Hana Kimi, a Modern Fairy Tale
by kingka
Summary: Princess Mizuki is betrothed to Prince Izumi since birth. Not wanting to marry a guy she doesn't know, she disguises herself as a guy and heads out to Osaka Kingdom. She tells her family she's going to get to know her new husband. Please R&R! S&M pairing!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Kimi or any of its characters.

Summary: Princess Mizuki has been betrothed to Prince Izumi since birth but doesn't know about it, until her 16th birthday that is. Not wanting to marry a guy she doesn't know, Mizuki cuts her hair, disguises herself as a guy and heads out to Osaka Kingdom. Meanwhile she tells her family she's going to get to know her new husband. What she didn't tell them is the fact that she's meeting him as a guy. What will happen?

A/N: Hi there! This is my first Hana-kimi fanfic. Won't you be nice and review my fic? Pretty please? Anyways, this inspiration spurred when I read a fanfic about Hana Kimi and I couldn't help but wonder what if Mizuki and Izumi were royalty. How would Osaka High be different? Please read and review! Thanks.

Chapter 1 – What Do You Mean I'm Betrothed?!

"What do you mean I'm betrothed?!" Mizuki yelled across the room. "That…" she sputtered. "Is just insane! How can you do this to me? It's so overrated! This is the 21st century!"

King and Queen Ashiya cringed in fear. They knew this would happen one day. King Ashiya sighed and tried to talk to his daughter again. "Look Mizuki, once you meet him, I'm sure you guys will love each other."

"Love?" Mizuki scoffed. "You mean like love first sight father? That's only in fairy tales."

"Common, I'm sure when you meet the guy, you'll like him."

"No way! How do you expect to marry a guy I have never seen before nor have any feelings for? You guys are just insane!"

"Mizuki," King Ashiya started gently.

"Look, I need some time to think father," Mizuki said and walked out the door.

'I can't believe father and mother actually betrothed me to some prince! I'm too young to get married!'

She stormed off into her bedroom and sat on her bed. She took out her teddy bear and hugged it tightly. It's a pretty worn out teddy bear, but she loved it. With it, she felt weirdly at ease. She didn't even know how she acquired the bear in the first place. But that's not the point. The point was she's never going into a marriage without knowing anything about this Izumi Sano. Turning on her computer, Mizuki sighed and called her best friend, Princess Julia. "Hello?" Julia said. "Hi," said Mizuki. "Mizuki, do you know what time it is?"

"Yes. I am aware. But this is an emergency!"

"What is this emergency?" Julia asked her.

"I'm getting married," Mizuki said bluntly.

Julia almost choked on her coffee. "Married?!" Julia yelled over the receiver. "How? When? Did he get you pregnant or something? How come you didn't tell me? You're horrible!"

"Slow down!" Mizuki told her. "I got betrothed since birth and didn't know about it. How did you get the idea I was pregnant?"

"Well, you said it was an emergency…" Julia said slowly. "Anyways, to whom are you betrothed to?"

"Izumi Sano."

Another choking sound occurred on the other end of the line. "The Izumi Sano?" Julia asked her to make sure.

"Yes?" Mizuki answered. "Why…is something wrong?"

"No…he's quite handsome actually but…"

"But what?"

"Nothing…you'll see once you see him."

"What do you mean Julia?" Mizuki wondered what her golden haired friend is up to now.

"Because you are going to see him firsthand. Open the email I sent you," Julia told Mizuki.

"Guy chefs needed full time at Osaka Kingdom," Mizuki read.

"So, what do you think?"

"I think it's a great idea. I mean, I love cooking…but it says guys only here," said Mizuki.

"That's why my dear, you are going to disguise as a guy and get to know prince Izumi," Julia exclaimed happily into the phone.

"I find how this prince actually is and convince my parents why I should not marry him! It's perfect! Thanks Julia!" Mizuki cried happily in the phone.

"Um well that's not what I had in mind, but glad I made you happy," Julia sweatdropped.

A/N: There. How's that? Please read and review! And if I see not many people are interested (aka not many reviews) it might take longer to finish this fic seeing that I'm working on multiple fics. Feel free to check out my inu fic "Game of Seduction" though. That one is updated really fast.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Hana Kimi. Sadly. Although I did buy the comic books.

A/N: Hmm. 3 reviews so far. Not bad. And one favorite! 3 I feel so loved. *ahem* Anyways, I would like to thank Meiko M, daydreamer writer, and Hotoami for reviewing my first Hana Kimi fanfic! I would also to thank lightblue muffin for being the first person to fav this story! Okay…without further ado, here's the next chapter of "Hana Kimi, A Modern Fairytale!" Oh yeah, please read and review! I really want to know what you guys think of my fan fic and it'll get me to update faster. *hint hint*

Chapter 2 – Is It Really Worth It?

"Are you sure you won't regret this?" a golden haired beauty asked Mizuki for what it seemed to be like the hundredth time. "Yes," Mizuki replied, unbraiding her waist length hair and combed it with her silver hairbrush. "Besides, it was your idea. Don't you remember Julia?"

Julia looked dejectedly at the brunette. "I know but…I didn't think you would be serious about it…"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Mizuki questioned. "After all, my future depends on this!"

"I don't see why you can't see why you have to go as far as to cut your hair though. Don't you see you are sacrificing your hair and feminineness here? Are you sure that this will be worth it?"

"Physical appearances mean nothing to me," Mizuki shrugged. "Besides, it's not like it won't grow," she added as an after thought.

"What a waste though!" Princess Julia whined, looking up her friend up and down again. Princess Mizuki, no matter how one looks at her, is undeniably beautiful. Even with her simple blue halter dress on, Mizuki looked sweet and sexy at the same time. Her soft, delicate features were curved perfectly, portraying an air of elegance and beauty. Just staring into her friendly hazel eyes could turn an enemy into an ally. Mizuki held that type of innocence, one that sometimes make Princess Julia feel very worried for her. 'And she's too reckless too! Who else would charge right into something like this?'

Julia sighed and signaled her friend to sit. She can't win when she used that look. Not when she used her puppy dog eyes. Who could say no to that? Those eyes held incredible power, and even Julia is susceptible to them. "I'm not going to stop you," Julia started, "but I'm warning you this may be a lost cause."

"Eh? What do you mean Julia-chan?"

"Prince Izumi is a very picky eater. I heard that he rarely accepts the cooks."

"What does have to do with me?"

"Of course it has to do with you when you are applying to be his personal chef!"

"EH?" Princess Mizuki had a clueless face on. Julia groaned. "Don't tell me you didn't even read the details before you charged into this?"

"Eh heehe. Um…" Mizuki sweatdropped. "Mi-zu-ki" Julia emphasized each syllable slowly. "Look…it's not going to be that bad. I can take care of myself," Mizuki convinced terribly, her sweatdrop getting bigger and bigger. "HOW CAN I NOT WORRY WHEN YOU ARE ALREADY MAKING ME WORRIED BEFORE YOU HEAD OFF TO OSAKA KINGDOM!" Julia yelled angrily. "Common please Julia?" Mizuki begged her friend. "I….I really want this, please I beg you," Mizuki got down on her knees and was about to bow. "Stop! What the hell are you doing?" "Does this mean you'll help me?" Mizuki asked her. "Yes, I've got no choice but to help right?" Julia sighed dejectedly and snipped Mizuki's long hair off.

"There. You look like a boy now. Happy?"

Mizuki looked at her now cropped, short hair in the mirror. "Yes. Very happy."

"By the way, you do have a wig that looks like your hair right?" Julia asked her.

"Eh?" said Mizuki. 'This girl…sometimes makes me sooo pissed!!!!'

"Mizuki…." Julia attempted to stay calm and smile. "You don't think that your family will be in shock and probably ask questions to why Princess Mizuki suddenly snipped off her long hair do you? Won't it be a bit suspicious and raise questions?" Julia reasoned.

"Oh yeah," Mizuki agreed full heartedly. 'Just kill me now' thought Julia. 'How can I not worry about this reckless girl?' "Thankfully I knew this would happen so I prepared your wig for you already."

"Thanks! You're the best Julia!"

'Is this really a good idea??' Princess Julia contemplated. 'By the way, did Mizuki already buy some guy clothing?'

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~Osaka Kingdom~

'I can't believe it! I'm late!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' Mizuki cried. 'This is not good at all.' Preoccupied with her surroundings, our protagonist did not even realize she had bumped into someone and crashed ungracefully to the ground. "Kyaaaa!" she shrieked, her mind dizzy. The dark haired stranger offered his hand. "Ah," she said. "Thanks, and sorry about that," she told him, taking his hand and steadied herself. "You sound like a girl," he commented. She looked at her watch again. "Aiiiii! Ah I'm in a hurry so bye bye!" Mizuki yelled and quickly ran off. "Huh? Hey! Wait!" he tried to run after her. "You forgot this." 'Man, he's quite fast for a little guy' he thought.

'Man! That was really bad. But thankfully I got away in time.' "Hi! Sorry I'm late! I'm Ashiya Mizuki, a Transfer Chef! My flight was delayed!" she said, running into the kitchen. Sweatdrops appeared on the rest of the people there. "Um…allow me to introduce our new Transfer Chef, Ashiya-kun. Eh?" he looked around. "Ashyia-kun, where's your cooking accessories?"

"Eh?" said a clueless Mizuki, frantically searching for her apparently missing bag. 'Where did it go? I was sure I had it a second ago' she sweatdropped.

The door opened. The stranger Mizuki met before bopped her on the head with her bag. "Hey you. You forgot this."

A/N: Well I hope you guys enjoyed it. I wonder who that guy was? I'm going to try to use some basic plot from the manga, but obviously I couldn't do every scene, so bear with me. You can pm me or post reviews for which scenes you want to see in my fic (ie: how Mizuki is in a rush and bumps into Sano. Of course this will be portrayed differently. Something like Mizuki forgetting her cooking materials and having Sano return it to her or something). If you like the story so far, please review! The button is just right there! Thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana-Kimi or the plot from Hana Kimi. Why must you torture me so!!!!!!!!

A/N: Hi there. Well I had time to update, so here it is! I want to thank Hotoami and lilac09 for reviewing the second chapter of my fanfic though. I'm really happy! Please read and review! Okay onto the fic!

Chapter 3 – Prince Izumi's Personal Chef

The princess in disguise turned around, only to see a good-looking black haired man with a serious face. He leaned on the wall, looking bored, and waited for her to take the bag. She froze for a second, realizing whom this prince charming was.

'_It's Prince Izumi!_' her mind screamed.

'_Wait…doesn't that mean I just…the person I ran into?…wait…why the hell is he here? Isn't he a prince? Why am I getting so agitated?_' she wondered.

"Prince Izumi, you're late," the same voice that introduced Mizuki said.

"Sorry," Izumi replied nonchalantly.

'_Wha? He's here too? What's going on?_' Mizuki wondered.

"Now that you are here," the head chef said, "Let's start the test. Now, I know all of you are superb chefs in your own right, but not everyone could be Prince Izumi's personal chef. Therefore, all of you will have 2 hours to prepare your best dish. Take out your supplies right now. And begin!" he whistled.

She decided to go simple but elegant, deciding to make fried shrimp tempura. After all, it is one of her favorite dishes. She got out her prepared shrimps and asked for an egg, some ice-cold water and flour. She measured 1/3 cups of water and ½ cup of flour. Then, she opened her bag again and got out a big glass bowl.

'_Thankfully it's not broken!_' she cried happily to herself.

She cracked the egg and mixed it with water, then added flour and stirred until it mixed well together. After that, she set it aside, and started to shell the shrimp but left the tail. Then, she deep-fried it, using a large heavy pan. She cooked it until it looked golden brown. Then, she prepared the sauce and put it all on a plate.

Mizuki was done in less than an hour. Now, she was bored. She looked around and saw Prince Izumi sitting by himself in a corner, away from the other cooks. She decided to approach him.

"Prince Izumi," she smiled.

The other cooks turned their heads, observing Mizuki and Izumi.

"Wow!! The new chef is talking to the gloomy prince? Amazing!" someone whispered.

"I'm interested in you. Let's get to know each other better" Mizuki said straightforwardly, not knowing that her words had very ambiguous meaning.

After all, her motto has always been "say everything straight out" (that's straight from the text). A clanking sound could be heard.

Izumi froze, took a deep breath and said, "I…don't have an interest in that area…sorry…" he trailed off.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" she wondered, then realized that she is mistaken for a homosexual.

"Um no…that's not…hey you! Where are you going?" she called out.

"Where are you going Prince Izumi?" the head chef asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm leaving," he said and left the kitchen.

Princess Mizuki turned into stone.

'_Wait! I'm not….a homosexual_' she wanted to cry.

'_How did it end up like this??? It's ruining my reputation!_'

'_Poor guy_' the others thought.

Suddenly, she had fire in her eyes, full of determination.

'_Hmph! This will not discourage me! Who cares what that idiot prince thinks? I'm Princess Mizuki!_' she convinced herself.

'_Yes, I must think how much I've sacrificed – my hair, my status – all to convince my family that Izumi is not worthy of my hand in marriage_!'

Mizuki got very caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice people edging away from her.

"Why is he laughing creepily?" one asked. "

He-Hey, someone go stop him."

"Hell no! You go!" They pushed each other.

"Aren't you interesting?" the head chef said.

"I think I want to know you better! Hi," he shook Mizuki's hand. "I'm Shuuichi Nakatsu."

She noticed he had bleached hair, and had a good-looking face. He somehow reminds her of one of those hot guys you would see on TV playing soccer.

'_Hmm…I wonder why I thought that?_' she wondered.

"I'm Osaka Kingdom's best Chef here! They call me 'The Burning Tiger!'" he continued, walking beside her, sort of giving her a tour of the palace at the same time.

"Eh? Burning Tiger? I wonder why," she said silently. "Huh?"

"Oh, nothing," said Mizuki.

"That's no good at all!" he yelled.

"Men should be loud! Loud I tell you!" he encouraged her.

Then, suddenly a dog pounced excitedly onto Mizuki, wagging his tail happily. Lick, lick!

"Wow!" Shuuichi exclaimed.

"That's Yuujirou, Prince Izumi's dog. Usually he doesn't like anyone but women. I guess it makes sense though, since you do look like a girl with that girly face of yours," he said.

"However," he patted her chest, laughing out loud, "If you did have boobs, that would be serious!"

"Hahahaha…" Mizuki laughed weakly, feeling relieved that her secret hasn't been discovered yet.

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Prince Izumi tasted each dish. Somehow, none of them seemed to suit his liking. They were too spicy, too sweet, or even too bitter.

'_These people are the best chefs in their own right?_' he scoffed.

There was one dish left – fried shrimp tempura.

'_Looks appetizing, but will it taste good?_' he thought, popping a piece into his mouth.

'_Mmmmm. It tastes just right. So crunchy_' he ate the rest of the dish with pleasure.

"Wow, that's very rare," a voice commented.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Prince Izumi eats all of his food on the plate."

"Minami," Izumi nodded.

Minami bowed. "I see you have taken a liking to this chef then?"

"I guess," Izumi shrugged.

"I see," the general smiled and strolled around the castle grounds. He bumped into someone.

"Sorry!" a soft voice said.

"Oh! So, you're the Ashiya Mizuki-kun that's been rumored huh?" Mizuki looked at him.

"I'm one of the three generals charged to protect Prince Izumi," he told her.

"Hmm, you are pretty cute. If you were a girl, I would kiss you right now."

"Um, I've got to go and see my results," Mizuki excused herself.

While passing the royal garden, she found Prince Izumi sleeping in an upright position on the grass.

'_He looks comfortable_' she thought.

She noticed his dog was here too, and signaled the dog to be quiet. The dog sweat dropped.

It seemed to say '_You think I can understand human language don't you? Well I do! But that's not the point!_'

She got on the ground and attempted to shield him from the wind. She started poking him lightly, only to have the prince suddenly tip over. She tried to steady him.

'_Phew_' she let out a breath and stared at his sleeping face.

'_He looks so innocent like this. When he doesn't have that gloomy face on_' she thought.

He leaned his head onto her shoulder.

'_Eh?_' she blushed.

At the same time, the dog pounced on the couple, making Prince Izumi land on top of Mizuki. He opened his eyes and was quite startled.

"Um…Yuujirou…" she started.

Getting the drift, Izumi sweat dropped.

'_I wanted to hug you guys too!_' Yuu-chan thought sadly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Don't speak in that tone!" she yelled at him.

"I just didn't want you to catch a cold! I wanted to wake you up but you looked very comfortable so I figured the best thing I could do is at least shield you from the harsh wind!"

"So that's what happened," Prince Izumi laughed.

It was an expression Mizuki wasn't prepared for. She didn't know he could express such emotions on his face.

"You're weird," he commented. Mizuki blushed lightly, thinking of his smiling face again. '_I want to see that more_' she thought.

"You are the one that fell down on me though!" Mizuki accused him. Izumi blushed deep red.

'_Aiii. He's so cute!_' Mizuki gushed.

'_No! Bad Mizuki!_' she scolded herself silently. To cover up her mistake she continued.

"You also snored and had saliva falling out!" she told him.

"LIAR," he said.

"Well, shouldn't you get going?" he asked her.

"Huh?" she asked him.

"Don't you have to go to the kitchen to find out your results?"

"Oh yeah! Shoot! I'm late!" she ran off. He laughed.

"What an interesting character," he said aloud to himself.

"Ashyia, you are now officially Prince Izumi's new chef," the head chef announced. "Congrats!" he patted her on the back.

A/N: Now, now. Who guessed that the head chef is Nakatsu? If you did, you get a cookie! So what did you guys think of this chapter? Please read and review! The button's just right there waiting for you to click and write a short review!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana-Kimi or the plot from Hana Kimi.

A/N: I'd like to thank lilac09 and Hotoami for reviewing my fanfic!

Chapter 4 – Ashiya's a Girl?!

And thus, Princess Mizuki's life as Mizuki the Chef started. She did a little victory dance in her head. Things were going so smoothly for her! And here, she thought she'd be shipped off back to who knows where if Prince Izumi did not like her cooking. Mizuki smiled to herself. She didn't expect Prince Izumi to enjoy her food!

_'Well, I guess it's a good sign he could eat my food. If we marry…' _she trailed off and blushed.

_'Oh my, what am I thinking? I'm a guy right now for goodness's sake!' _she cried internally.

During times like this, she wished she was a girl. Perhaps she could be closer to Prince Izumi that way. She shook her head.

_'No! Bad Mizuki! Don't forget the agenda!' _

With that thought in mind, she balled her fists and made a peace sign to no one in particular.

"What are you doing?" Izumi leaned near the kitchen door, observing her weird gestures for the last few minutes.

"Um…" she started.

"Is there something you needed Prince Izumi?" she asked him.

"I just wanted to check what's for dinner," he replied huskily, making her shiver slightly.

_'Don't look at him in the eye'_ she willed herself.

_'Dammit! I just did. If only I could melt into his gaze right now…kill me now…' _she thought.

Izumi crossed his arms and raised a dark eyebrow.

"You know, it's fun watching your emotions on your face," he commented.

Mizuki blushed slightly.

"Um…I'll go check with Nakatsu about the dinner," she told the smirking prince.

_'It's fun messing with Ashiya' _he thought.

"Well let's get started on today's dinner!" Shuuichi told everyone, and clasped his hands together.

He finished frying the oysters and was already preparing the main dish. Truthfully, he was glad Ashyia passed as Izumi's new personal cook. There aren't many cooks that suited Prince Izumi's taste and he did not enjoy getting the end of Izumi's bickering. The prince usually got fed up with him and cooked his own food anyways. Actually, now that Shuuichi thought about it, isn't Ashiya the first cook in like forever to have gotten the job? Wow, this Ashiya is special!

"Hey Ashyia, can you hand me the sauce?" the head chef asked her.

"Sure," she replied, handing him the red sauce.

He poured it in a nice s shape and put roses onto the dish as the finishing touch.

"Done!" he cried happily.

He handed Mizuki one of the trays, telling her to go ahead of him and take the dish out to the dining table.

That's when her identity got into jeopardy. Shuuichi who was in a rush, accidentally smacked the dish into Mizuki while Mizuki ran back to get the other dishes. Food clattered onto the ground.

"Mizuki?!" Shuuichi yelled.

"Mizuki! Are you all right? Hey! Hey! Answer me!"

Shuuichi's face was full of concern and fear for the princess in disguise.

"What have I done?" Shuuichi whispered, really regretting for hurting her accidentally.

Izumi, who saw the incident ran without hesitation and lifted the unconscious princess up.

"Go find the doctor! Hurry!" the prince yelled.

"You are always full of trouble huh?"

'_Eh?_' Izumi froze.

He felt something soft and lumpy?

'_Breasts? Ashiya is a girl?_' he thought, a surprised look shown on his face. Unsure about what to do with this new news, he walked off to the royal infirmary. Izumi kicked the door open.

"What do we have here," asked Doctor Umeda, "for Head Chef to interrupt my alone time?"

Umeda was pissed because Shuuichi, a fast runner, had stopped him on his way home. He still had bruises from Shuuichi, who gripped him so hard in an attempt to stop him from leaving. The poor boy was practically crying his eyeballs out. He glared at the boys and took a look at the unconscious chef, only to see Mizuki.

'_Eh Princess Mizuki?_' he thought, recognizing the girl as one of his younger sister's best friends.

"Well, now that he is here, you boys could go now. Shoo!" he told them.

"But is he really fine?" Shuuichi asked, his eyes overflowing with tears.

"He's just knocked out," Umeda said.

"Thank goodness! You are okay Ashiya!" Shuuichi cried, hugging the unconscious patient.

Tick marks appeared on Dr. Umeda's head.

_'How dare he hug Mizuki like that!'_

"Sheesh. Get out. Don't get worked up just because someone fainted," Dr. Umeda said.

"Now get out!" he said, ready to kick Shuuichi.

However, Shuuichi's face lit up when Mizuki shifted her eyes open.

"Nakatsu?" Mizuki asked.

Umeda kicked Nakastu, sparing Izumi because he is a prince.

"Spectators, leave!" he yelled.

"Wait!" Shuuichi yelled.

"What the hell are you doing you idiotic doctor?!" he continued yelling, as Izumi dragged him out of the infirmary.

Dr. Umeda directed his gaze at Mizuki. If his eyes were lazers, she would have been shot dead right now. Mizuki tried to ignore him by pretending to be asleep.

"That's not going to work on me Mizuki-chan," Umeda told her.

Mizuki pulled off her blanket covers.

"Hello Hokuto-kun" she said meekly, afraid of making eye contact with him.

"Uum…I'm fine now, so…" she said, ready to leave.

She was already halfway there when Hokuto backed her into a wall.

"Where are you going Mizuki-chan?" he smiled devilishly and continued.

" What's the princess doing, cutting her hair short like a boy and wearing a chef's uniform? Aren't all the chefs here males?" he asked her.

'_Damn his sharpness!_' her mind screamed.

'_This is way too close for comfort!_' she thought, realizing the awkward position they are in, with her backed into the wall and Hokuto pressing her hands against his, him towering over her.

"Ah about that…" Mizuki said, trying to wring her hands free.

He gave her a stern look and maintained his stance.

"Hokuto-kun" she gave him the puppy dog look.

"Don't you dare Hokuto-kun me," he scolded his younger sister's friend.

"What do you think you are doing? Don't you know how much damage this would cause if you were found out?"

"I know," said Mizuki.

"But I wanted to get to know him before he meets my princess self, to see if he is worthy of my hand in marriage."

"Prince Izumi is a good man," Hokuto told her.

"You don't need to have any worries. Just leave this castle."

"But I don't want to marry a guy I don't love," Mizuki whispered, looking downcast.

Hokuto slammed his left fist into the wall. Blood dripped from his hand.

"Hokuto?!" Mizuki asked, alarmed by his actions.

"Does this mean you want to stay so you can see if you will fall in love with the prince?" Hokuto asked.

Mizuki nodded.

"Have you thought of the consequences? Of what would happen if you were caught, if Izumi knew you were lying for the whole time? Are you ready for that?" he yelled.

"Yes," Mizuki said.

"I am ready for it because it's better to know that I have fallen in love with him than go into a marriage I may regret for the rest of my life."

"Okay," he let go of her.

"Do whatever you want."

"Thanks Hokuto!" she hugged him.

"Hey don't hug me! I'll break out in hives!" he yelled.

"Thanks!" Mizuki smiled.

"That girl hasn't changed," he said to himself.

'_Ashyia is a girl?_' Izumi's mind repeated the feeling of her boobs over and over again.

'_Bad prince_' he scolded himself.

'_Why am I remembering her sensation, her body so well?_' He fingered his black cape nervously.

'_Moreover, why aren't I exposing her? I don't understand myself at all…_'

Meanwhile, Shuuichi was moping by himself in the hallway when he spotted Ashyia. He looked up and called out to "him".

"Ashyia!" he yelled.

"Are you alright? You can hit me if you want. I deserve it. I wasn't being professional enough."

"It's alright!" Mizuki assured him, giving him a peace sign.

"It's nothing. Besides, I was the one being clumsy. No need to apologize."

Shuuichi's eyes brimmed with tears.

"Thank you Mizuki! Thank you," he cried.

"You are such a great friend!"

"Eh right!" Mizuki smiled.

And just like that, Shuuichi became attracted to her. His heart started beating faster, his hands sweating uncontrollably.

'_What is this feeling called?_' he wondered.

'_This couldn't be love, right? I think I'm in love_' he thought.

"Wait, isn't Mizuki a guy?" he mumbled, very confused.

He scratched his head.

"Huh?" Mizuki asked.

"Ah, nothing," he told Mizuki.

Mizuki smiled, happy that she now had a new friend. So, basically she was totally clueless about Shuuichi's newfound crush.

_'Doesn't that mean I'm gay? Noooo! I'm still a young healthy boy!!!!!!_' the poor head chef's mind screamed.

_'Hmmm. That was lucky_' our heroine thought.

'_I thought I was a goner for sure! At least no one found out I am a girl_' she thought happily.

She sat on the grass and looked at the darkening sky.

"Ashiya," Izumi approached her from behind.

"Prince Izumi…" she said.

"I'm hungry. Get me something to eat."

"Eh?!"

"You made me miss my dinner. Won't you compensate for it?" he invited himself beside her, spreading his long legs on the ground.

"Yes. Yes," she said, getting up quickly.

He stopped her by grabbing her outstretched hand. He put a rice cake into her hand.

"You didn't think I would be a mean prince did you? I already had some onigiri earlier," he opened a bento and gave it to her.

"Eat," he told her. Her stomach seemed to agree, for it growled.

"Heh. Thank you!" she said, eating the rice cake and onigiri.

"This is good!" she exclaimed.

"You like it?" he smiled.

"Hey you smiled!" Mizuki exclaimed.

"I have never seen you smile before. You should do it more often because you look so sad and gloomy all the time."

"Oh," he sighed.

"Who made this? It tastes sooo good!" she asked him and bit another piece of the rice cake.

"I did," he told her.

At this, Mizuki was a bit surprised. The prince knew how to cook? Then why did he need a personal chef? Then again, he is a prince.

"But don't get used to it dumbo. You are the chef, so next time, you cook. Alright?" he said.

"Sure thing!" she responded.

~After a long while of sitting there watching the sunset~

'_Why is she quiet all of the sudden?_' Prince Izumi wondered, and turned to see the princess sleeping on the grass.

"How can she sleep in a place like this?" he wondered and carried her inside the castle.

'_Where should I put her?_' he sighed and looked at the stairs, and at the girl again.

'_Well, I guess my room it is. I don't want her to be risked getting caught being a girl_'.

With that thought in mind, he carried her princess style up the stairs. He stared at her sleeping face.

_'She's actually pretty, if you take a good look_'. He swept some of her bangs away from her face and leaned in closer, studying her.

'_No, what am I thinking? I have a fiancé_,' he thought sadly and decided not to kiss the sleeping girl.

"I've got to clear my mind," he said to himself and left his room.

A/N: Well there's the chapter. Please tell me what you thought of it! Read and review! Sorry if it's too short! I hope you liked the chapter though! =)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana-Kimi or the plot from Hana Kimi.

A/N: I would like to say thanks to Hotoami and lilac09 for reviewing and giving me suggestions on how to improve this fanfic as well as thank judedeath for having interest in my fanfic! You each earned a big piece of brownie! =) Okay, on with the story! Please read and review!

Oh yeah btw, I revised the last chapter and made it longer, if you guys didn't already read it…

Chapter 5 – Izumi's Dilemma

Izumi ended up sneaking back to his bedroom, for he could not really think of an excuse to sleep elsewhere. He knew it would cause problems, like why he actually took her into his chambers if he decided to sleep somewhere else. He crept silently in the hallways, not wanting to wake anyone up. He opened the door quietly and slipped into his bedroom. He walked to the sleeping girl and couldn't help but stare at Mizuki.

Now that Izumi took a better look at her face, he realized that she looked a bit like his fiancé. Actually now that he thought about it, they shared the same name and last name. But what are the chances of his fiancé coming here? After all, he thought, he hadn't seen her for so many years. _'Would she even remember me?' _He wondered how Princess Mizuki looked now. It's been so long since he's seen her. Is she still the same little girl that used to follow him around, that would cry when something happened? Perhaps that's what attracted him to this girl here. _'Mere attraction, that's all'_ he convinced himself. After all, how could he fall in love with any other girl than Mizuki, the girl he gave his heart to all those years ago?

Izumi tried to picture his Mizuki as he put his head on his bed that was currently occupied. _'Perhaps, she'll still have her long, brown locks of silky hair.'_ How he longed to touch her soft, silky hair. Unconsciously, his left hand moved towards the sleeping Mizuki's head, and started running his fingers through it. _'Yes, it will feel just like that'_ he thought, and slept in that uncomfortable position, with him kneeling down onto the ground, his face borrowing a little bit of space of the bed.

When morning came, Mizuki found herself awake in someone's room. She wanted to raise her right hand to rub her eyes, but found that she couldn't lift them?! Glancing down, she saw Prince Izumi asleep on the ground by the bed. His hand was clasped over hers, clutching hard as if he were afraid if he loosened it, she would disappear. Taking in the surroundings around her, she noticed how his room is very clean. The walls were painted beige. His pillow and curtains looked tan. His silvery, silky blankets were crisscrossed in a diamond shaped pattern.

Then, Prince Izumi stirred awake. "Hey," he greeted Mizuki, his hand still holding hers. Mizuki started blushing, a tint of red apparent on her cheeks. "Um, Prince Izumi?" "Mmm?" he asked. She gestured her hand. "Can you let go?" Izumi immediately let go and apologized in his princely manner. "Sorry," he grunted. He scratched his head. "Um yesterday you fell asleep, so I wasn't sure where to you know…" he trailed off. "I see. Thank you, my prince," she told him. She got off his bed covers and stretched. "It's a beautiful day today!" she exclaimed. "Right," he answered, getting up from his awkward position and stretched out his cramped arms and legs.

'_I wonder why she disguised herself as a guy though, although I do not think it would bode well if I were to ask her myself'_ Izumi thought silently, stealing a quick glance at the oblivious girl. _'Why do I feel so damn comfortable with her?! It's as if I've known her forever.'_

"Um…I'm going to go down ahead for breakfast," he told her, feeling very uncomfortable around her.

Mizuki looked confused for a second. "Wait!" she called, but he already shut the door. '_Prince Izumi…you aren't going to shower or even brush your teeth first?! Men'_ she grumbled and headed to his washroom to brush her teeth. She spurt some toothpaste onto her index finger and started brushing. Hey, there was no way she's going to use his brush. That would be like an indirect kiss or something, not to mention gross. Satisfied with her work, she opened the door, looked left and right, making sure no one was around, and stepped out.

She entered the kitchen and put on her apron, which was light blue. _'What should I make for his breakfast?'_ she thought silently. She carefully eyed her ingredients. _'Chocolate chip pancakes it is then' _she thought and started cooking, putting her effort into preparing the gloomy prince's food. She hoped this would bring a smile to his face. But she didn't know a certain prince hated sweets and would throw a tantrum.

"What's this?" the said prince eyed the food with uttermost disgust. "It's chocolate chip pancakes," Mizuki replied cheerfully. "Take it away," he told her. "I don't eat sweets." "But!" she protested. "There's a first time for everything! You didn't even try it yet. It's not good to waste food." He glanced up and looked at her straight in the eye. "Are you going against my order?" he said intimidating her. Mizuki could feel the heavy pressure falling on her. But she's not going to be defeated that easily, or else she's not called Ashiya Mizuki. "I wouldn't dare to, my dear prince," she sugarcoated those words sweetly. "But my prince, you shouldn't waste food at all. Won't you be a good little boy and eat your breakfast?" she spoke to him like he was a little kid trying to get out of eating asparagus by refusing the food. Izumi glared at her. The maids and servants around them giggled. Their prince was acting like such a spoilt child!

Izumi eyed the pancakes again and looked like he wanted to pout but couldn't. So it ended up with him scowling and having a grumpy face. "Throw it away," he repeated, but Mizuki took this chance to slip a piece of pancake into his mouth. "How is it, Prince?" she asked.

To his surprise, the pancake wasn't that sweet. The flavor was just right. "It's not sweet," he realized. "Of course not," said Mizuki. "After all, I used dark chocolate chips so that it wouldn't be too sweet," she stated proudly. "Now, won't you finish your breakfast?"

Izumi grumbled cutely, like a little kid being caught doing something bad. "I'll eat it," he said, defeated. "But how did you know I didn't like sweets?"

Mizuki looked at him and shrugged. "I didn't," she replied. "But I had a hutch. After all, I think dark chocolate pancakes taste the best and there hasn't been anyone in history that hated my chocolate pancakes, hence why I made you eat them!" she told him.

'_Great'_ he thought sarcastically.

A/N: Well, how was that chapter? In the next chapter, there's going to be an unexpected visitor. I wonder who it is? He's coming from afar. *hint hint* Well, please read and review! After all, your reviews do matter!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi or Hana Kimi Plot.

A/N: Hey how are you guys doing? I'm sorry I didn't update for a few days. I was getting ready for school. Anyways, I'm happy I got 4 more reviews! *Happiness!* Please keep them coming! Oh yeah, I would like to thank lilac09, daydreamer writer, MickeyMouseFanatic, and cheryblosom for reviewing! Ah I'd also like to thank SparkleUsagi and olitschka for having interest in my fic (feels so honored to be on your favorites list)! Also, thanks to RogueMiki, and yui/alex for having interest in my fic! Here's a big triple chocolate for each of you guys! Happy Chinese New Year! Wow, that's a long list of ppl!

Chapter 6 – An Unexpected Visitor

In another kingdom, another place, a good looking blond guy stood outside the great iron gates, hoping to surprise his little sister. The cold wind swept by his face, blowing his golden locks behind him. He lightly tugged on his cozy dark green scarf, with his knit woven white gloves, just remembering how cold Hana Kingdom is during this time of year. After all, he has been away for a year, and because of that, he didn't know what his little sister is up to.

Bowing down, Shizuki greets the king and queen.

"Welcome home," the queen smiled, hugging her son tightly, possibly crushing his bones. He swore he heard his bones crack. Smiling sheepishly, he turns to the king and queen and asks them – "Mother, Father," he addressed them and looked around, searching for a certain brown haired beauty.

"Where's Mizuki?" he asked the king and queen. "Let us go inside, my son," the king said, walking with his son and wife to the palace. The king and queen settled in their designated thrones, the king's being higher than his wife's.

"Mizuki is in Osaka," the king said once seated on his throne.

"Why all the way in Osaka, father?" Shizuki wondered as he sipped the sweet smelling hot chocolate with marshmallows. He glanced up and wondered why his parents were quiet. "Why is Mizuki in Osaka?" he said once more, this time a bit more loudly. _'Why aren't mother or father answering? Did something bad happen while I was away?'_ Brushing off invisible specks of dust, a habit he does when nervous, Shizuki stood up and started getting agitated.

"Where is Mizuki? Was she kidnapped? Killed?" his mind started going off in different directions. He freaked out, nearly tearing his shoulder length hair off his head as he tugged on it roughly out of frustration. Queen Ashiya got off the throne and said to her son soothingly, "Mizuki has gone to Osaka Kingdom to check out her fiancé's home."

"Who's home?" Shizuki voice thundered angrily, already protective of his little sister. _'Since when did Mizuki get a fiancé without my acknowledgement?!"_

"Um…it was appointed since birth," the queen said meekly, gently rubbing his back to calm him down.

"What do you mean since birth? How come I didn't know about this?!" said Shizuki.

"Why won't you tell him, your majesty?" the queen turned to her husband.

"Um you see," the king started to explain the situation of how his father and his father's friend had promised each other way back in the day. "Then why didn't you have to marry Sano?" Shizuki asked.

"Obviously because both Izumi's dad and I are guys," the king stated comically.

"Not funny," his son glared at him angrily. "Wait, it's not that little twerp is it?" Shizuki exclaimed.

"Little twerp?" the king raised an eyebrow. "Yes!" Shizuki said. "That little twerp Mizuki used to follow around everywhere!"

"Oh! Now I remember!" the king said happily. "I must tell Mizuki this. She'll be really happy!"

"You will not tell Mizuki anything! You've done enough damage!" Shizuki yelled at his parents. "I'm visiting Mizuki," he stated. "And if I don't deem this Sano Izumi worthy of my sister, I swear I'm bringing her back!" After that, he stomped off angrily to his room.

Queen Ashyia took this opportunity to send a letter to Mizuki, expressing her love and concern for her younger child. She also added the fact that Shizuki is coming. Hopefully, the letter will arrive before Shizuki does. Who knows what will happen?

~Osaka Kingdom~

"A letter for you," Dr. Umeda told her. "It's a good thing I saw it and swiped it for you too," he told her. "Thanks Hokuto!" she said cheekily.

Running happily in the yard, Mizuki ripped open the royal seal and started reading the letter. **Dearest Mizuki, **she read. **How are you doing? Are you well? Having fun? Hopefully, you are getting to know your fiancé and his kingdom. We look forward to seeing you back home. **Mizuki read on until the very last sentence. **By the way, your brother Shizuki is coming to Osaka to check up on you. Love, Mother.**

Mizuki felt like fainting. Shizuki is coming to Osaka?! _'Not good. That's not good at all! I'm a guy right now for goodness's sake! I don't even have any girl clothing. I have the wig though…'_ thought Mizuki, thinking of a way out of her dilemma. Frustrated, she threw her hands up in the air and shouted "Why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Prince Izumi popped out of nowhere and asked her, "Why what?" He leaned forward, examining her.

"Uh not – thing," Mizuki stuttered.

"Then why were you stuttering?" he raised an eyebrow and leaped backwards.

"I was thinking of why the sky is so blue today," she told him.

"I see," Izumi nodded, totally knowing she's up to something. He noticed something in her hands. It was a letter? "What's that you have there?" he asked her.

Mizuki quickly hid the letter behind her back. "Nothing," she said. "Common, let me see," Izumi asked her, trying to get the letter behind her back. She moved it out of his reach, ducked under him and ran away. "I'm going to prepare a dessert for you right now Prince Izumi!" She ran away to the kitchen.

"But I don't like sweets," he trailed off after her.

'_Must find Hokuto quick!'_ Mizuki thought, running to the clinic once she prepared a big chocolate cake for the Sano family. _'Serves him right for trying to get my letter' _Mizuki smirked, imagining Prince Izumi's horrid face of having to eat such a large piece of chocolate cake iced with three different types of chocolate. She even added black and white chocolate chips along the sides for the spite of it. Devil's Advocate she called it. Heh, maybe she should take a slice too if there's still some left over later. After all, sweets are like heaven.

"Hokuto," she banged on the clinic door. "What do you want," Hokuto asked a bit annoyed from not having his peaceful break. "I need girl's clothing, pronto!" she asked desperately. "What makes you think I have women's clothing?" he asked her. "Come on! You have to help me!" she pleaded. "Fine fine," Hokuto said, flipping his cell phone and speed dialing. " "Rio's coming in 10," he said.

"Really? Rio's coming?" Mizuki said, really excited about seeing her friend.

A/N: Ah this chapter is finally done! Ah I kinda lied. Shizuki is on his way though. Anyways, I'm going to be busy with school/get adjusted so I don't know when the next update will be. The more reviews the faster I will update though, since I can't keep people waiting for that long if they are that interested in my fic. So really it depends on you guys. So please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi.

A/N: Wow, I'm impressed with the reviews and amounts of favorites. Anyways, I'd like to start off by thanking LilyPika, mythicalprincess15, wolf princess julie, Soccer-chan, lilac09, guardianranger, and daydreamer writer. I'm glad a lot of people are interested in this fic! Please continue to read and review! Anyways, since there are a lot of reviews, I must update! *doesn't know when the next update will be though*

Chapter 7 – What's With This Jealousy?

An angry aura filled the room; Mizuki wanted to run, but her legs were frozen stiff to the ground. Besides, she kind of needed Rio's clothes, she reminded herself.

"Mizuki…." Rio, who knew that Mizuki must be up to some worrisome activity, said very slowly. "Hai?" Mizuki answered meekly, afraid of her friend's temper. "Your hair, your clothes…what the hell?" Rio's eyebrows twitched madly.

Mizuki motioned Rio to sit. "It's going to take a while to explain," Mizuki proceeded to convince her. Rio tapped her hands on the desk hurriedly, waiting for Mizuki to give a valid explanation of why she cut her hair, wore guy's clothing, and most importantly, is posing as a guy. Once Mizuki was done with her heartfelt tale, Rio sighed. '_Geez, one can't help but worry about this girl'_ Rio thought sadly. '_This girl is just like before, acting without thinking of the consequences – she's even dressing up as a guy now.'_

"So…you called me here to get clothes because your brother's coming?" Rio clarified again, already feeling a bad headache coming. "Yes," Mizuki shouted cheerfully, glad Rio finally understood her. "And what happens if he finds out?" Rio wondered.

"He won't," Mizuki reassured. '_Can I really trust this girl?'_ Rio continued to ponder. "Just give Mizuki-chan cute clothes," Hokuto said. "Aren't you worried about this girl?!" Rio asked her brother.

"I think it's amusing," said Hokuto, wondering how Mizuki would actually get out of her predicament. After all, he's just an observer. "You are useless!" Rio exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "Rio?" Mizuki tried to get her attention. "Hai, hai. Here's the clothes you asked for," Rio said, motioning to the clear blue bag she set on the chair near the door earlier. "Thanks!" said Mizuki, already taking off.

"Don't you think Prince Izumi and Mizuki make a great couple?" Hokuto asked Rio.

"A great couple of idiots," Rio muttered, then smiled. It would be great if Izumi could indeed forget the past. Perhaps, Mizuki could heal him.

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Mizuki ran down the stairs hurriedly and rushed out the castle's doors. Izumi wondered where the girl was going, and out of concern for Mizuki, no out of curiosity, he followed her, of course not before he changed into his commoner's attire. He saw her go into a nearby restroom stall; she changed into a nice flora sleeved top and white knee length skirt. '_So she really is a girl'_ he thought. '_Wait, why the hell am I following her? I'm not a stalker'_ he tried to convince himself. _'But why is she in a skirt? She can't be on a date…could she?'_ Before he could finish the rest of his thoughts, a man with blond hair picked Mizuki up and twirled her around. '_Why that man, assaulting Mizuki like that'_ his hands clenched tightly without his noticing. Izumi watched secretly from the small green bush. "Mizuki!" the blond man yelled cheerfully, hugging her tightly. '_Why am I so attracted to her? I don't even know her at all. But this feeling; it feels like I've known her forever. That man is also annoyingly familiar. I wonder why?'_ Izumi turned to see the man and Mizuki in an intimate position, or what seemed to look intimate from his viewpoint. At this point, steam started burning his ears. "Achoo!" Izumi sneezed accidentally, quickly covering his nose, but not before Mizuki heard the slight sneeze.

"Eh?" squeaked Mizuki, looking around. "Did you hear something brother?" Shizuki shrugged. "Meow! Me-eow!" Izumi managed to imitate. "Weird, I wasn't aware that there would be a stray kitten here," Mizuki frowned. "Are kittens even capable of sneezing?" she wondered. "Let's go eat some lunch. I have something to talk about with you," Shizuki told her. _'Phew, that was a close call'_ Izumi thought. Why he meowed, he didn't know, but he was grateful for his quick thinking; it wouldn't bode well if his personal chef found out he was stalking her. _'Well, at least I now know that's her brother…'_

"Come home with me," Shizuki repeated, staring at the food in front of him, then picked his fork up to take a piece of it. "No," Mizuki replied, sipping her coke again. "Why?!" Shizuki retorted while Mizuki choked on her soda. "You already came to your fiancé's kingdom; surely you've met him right?"

She wiped her mouth clean and said, "Well, yes I did, but…"

"But what?" Shizuki asked her. "I want to know more about this kingdom and expand my cooking skills," Mizuki admitted, which is partly true.

"You can do that back at home," he pointed out.

"But everyone knows who I am there," Mizuki stated quietly. "Anyways, I want to stay here," she stated firmly with determination evident in her eyes; she's serious about this.

"Why are you really here? You can go anywhere, and yet you chose this place. You are up to something aren't you?" Shizuki eyed his sister suspiciously. "Nothing!" Mizuki waved her hands back and forth, quite unconvincingly. "I just love the scenery here! Seriously!" she told him. "Hmm…." Shizuki said, not really convinced.

Izumi strived to hear their conversation, but only got bits and pieces. Something about a fiancé, and wanting to stay here. _'Wait. Fiancé?!'_ his mind did a flip turn; somehow, he managed to forget that he himself had a fiancé too. _'Shit! They are already leaving!'_ he continued to follow them until they said their goodbyes. "Bye brother. Say hello to mother and father for me!" Mizuki tiptoed and kissed his cheek. "Make sure to visit something alright?" Shizuki told her. "Or else I'll come pick you up myself."

"Hai!" Mizuki saluted then skipped back to the palace. She looked up and down. _'Aiii I forgot to change!'_ She quickly slipped into an unoccupied room and changed into her regular attire; an old sweat pant and dirty black t-shirt. It's what she usually wore while she's not in the kitchen. Mizuki smacked herself in the head; she forgot the prince's lunch again! Hopefully he's too occupied doing other princely duties. She crossed her fingers.

A/N: Ah, it's quite short and lacks details, but hopefully not too bad right? I'll make it up with the next chapter, when the cooking show down begins! Please comment! Even a critique is fine! I know there should be critiques! For one thing, this chapter is very short, lacks good details….um I'm kind of rushing this so sorry! I apologize again! But tell me what you think of this chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi.

A/N:

(ll) (ll)

( ^. - ) v

( ) ( ) Bunnies Rule the World

*Ahem* Anyways, I'd like to start off by thanking my reviewers. Thank you to databug742 , Cammyable, Sparklillian, Kiya-chan, MaimiAi47, flamingbunnies, daydreamer writer, yui/alex, LilyPika, guardianranger, and lilac09. I'm so happy I got so many reviews, faves, and alerts! ^.^ To tell the truth, I'm not sure what I want to write for this chapter, so I had to reread my own fanfic hehehe. Hope this chapter will be to your liking!

Chapter 8 – A Farewell?

'_Phew. Seems like no one noticed I was gone'_ Mizuki thought to herself. _'Calm down. There's no need to be so nervous. It's not like I did anything wrong. But what's with this uneasiness that is building up in my heart, as if something bad is going to happen?!'_

Mizuki sighed decided to take a little nap near the big green tree. Closing her eyes slowly, she inhaled the fresh air and relaxed. If she knew what was to come shortly, she would panic.

~Few days later~

The sun's rays shined brightly against the vivid sky. It was supposed to be a great day right? Wrong. Not today, for Shizuki is now in front of Osaka castle demanding to see his sister Mizuki, who is apparently not here.

"What do you mean she's not here?" he screamed into the poor maid's ear.

" Princess Mizuki, my sister. Have you guys not seen her or something?" He looked at them like they were insane or something.

'_Oh no!'_ Mizuki thought. _'What should I do?'_

Thinking quickly, Mizuki decided to sneak out and get Hokuto's help. However, with Shizuki's perfect vision, that is quite impossible. In an instant, he was behind her, his hand on her hoodie, preventing her escape.

"Mizuki…" he said, gritting his teeth.

"What are you talking about?" Mizuki said in a small voice.

"What do you think you are doing?" her brother started to scold her.

"Um I have a good explanation for this," Mizuki tried to explain.

He raised his voice slightly, "You better have a good one or else I'm going to drag you off this castle right now."

"You can't do that aniki!" Mizuki protested. "I still have to stay here!"

"Why?" Shizuki inquired, raising his eyebrow. "You met your fiancé, you know his attitude, and so you can go back now right?"

"No, not yet," Mizuki said in a soft, gentle tone.

"I want to know more about him. Why he has such a painful expression on his face sometimes? I can't leave him alone just yet."

"Painful expression?" he asked her.

"Yes, like he is bound by guilt or something. Sometimes, it seems like life is sucked out of him, but other times, he seems normal. Please aniki, let me stay here for a while longer."

Shizuki looked at his sister, contemplating if it is okay to leave his sister here.

"Mizuki?" Prince Izumi's voice startled Mizuki.

"So this is Prince Izumi?" Shizuki asked, taking a good look at his potential brother in law.

'_Why do I have a bad feeling I'm being glared at by Mizuki's brother? I don't remember doing anything to him? Wait…it couldn't be that he knows that I followed them?'_ Izumi thought.

"Look here," Shizuki said. "Unless Prince Izumi wins the cooking competition that will be held in 3 days, I'm taking her back home."

"Home?" Izumi repeated. "Why? He is my personal chef."

If Shizuki heard Izumi call her "he", Shizuki surely took it well, for he didn't go and blow Mizuki's cover by saying that Mizuki is a girl.

"Let's just say I'm very protective of my little _brother._ And if I feel like _he_ will not make any great progress here, I'm taking him back to our country."

The two princes glared at each other. Electricity can be seen shooting from their eyes.

'_Aiiii. What's with this tense atmosphere? It seems like they want to tear each other's head off or something!!!' _Mizuki thought from the sidelines. Yep, those two guys were so caught up in their conversation that they had forgotten our heroine.

"And if I win?" Izumi inquired.

"Then _he_ can stay."

"Deal." The guys shook hands.

"Hey wait! Don't you guys go and decide things on your own!" Mizuki yelled. "And why does it have to be Prince Izumi? He's a prince!"

"You stay out of this," Izumi told her.

"But," Mizuki started to protest. "It's not fair! This is my own problem not yours!"

"Not mine?" Izumi glared at her. "I'm not about to lose my chef for some idiotic reason just because your brother has a brother complex!"

Veins started popping out of Shizuki's head. "Brother complex?!"

"Yeah, got a problem with that?"

"Mizuki, are you sure this guy is not just insane? I think you should just go back home right now!"

"Brother!" Mizuki yelled.

"Don't be too confident that you will win though," Shizuki cautioned. "After all, you don't even know what will be asked of the chefs from the contest's supervisors.

"Don't tell me," Izumi started.

"Yep, I'm one of tomorrow's supervisors. Good luck!" Shizuki waved and walked out the castle's entrance.

"Wait! Oni-san…..no one's listening to me," Mizuki pouted in the background.

"Get up," Izumi ordered.

"Eh?"

"We got some things to prepare in 3 days time."

"But I thought you hated cooking?" Mizuki asked him.

Pain crossed his face for a moment. "I'll be fine," he told her. "I'll be fine," he repeated to himself.

A/N: Well here's the quick update! And about Izumi's painful expression….I did that on purpose; it's not explained yet. Apparently something happened in Izumi's past that makes him not like to cook and sometimes has that painful expression. And it's not about high jumping. Sorry. Um hopefully this chapter is not too confusing? Well please read and review!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi.

A/N: Wow I'm amazed. About 11 reviews after not uploading for about 2 months! Anyways, I'd like to thank all of you guys that have been supporting my fic so far! guardianranger, I'll think about your request, but it'll be a long time before that happens. flamingbunnies, Kiya-chan, Mystic-fan55, here's your long awaited chapter! Thanks for pointing out the "aniki" mistake, but I'll change that later, by the time I finish this fic, if not remind me again. As for all of you guys curious about Sano's painful expression, you guys will have to wait and see what happened in his past! It might be revealed soon, since to win the competition, he might have to get over his past? Or not….donno yet…anyways, enjoy the fic.

Please read and review!

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Chapter 9 – It's a Date?!

'_Or so I thought'_ Izumi had believed.

He looked at the cooking competition flier with enough disdain to pierce a hole through the paper. Cooking, he can take, but _that_, he is not so sure of. After all, he had his princely pride. Doing _that _would jepardize his status and even cause him to be a laughing stock. Then again, he could be thinking too much. His eye twitching with annoyance, he crumbed the paper and threw it away. Mizuki looks shocked as well, he noted, but little did he know that she was shocked for a whole different reason, a reason that could jepordize her mission.

Shuuichi, wiping the wine glasses with a soft, white towel in a slow, circular motion, looked at them behind the kitchen counter and frowned. '_What are wrong with those two?_' he wondered, placing the clean glass into the glass rack and moved to pick up the now forgotten crumbled piece of paper, and flattened it out. He read it, and snickered quietly so that Mizuki and Izumi wouldn't hear him.

'_This ought to be fun'_ he thought.

'_Maybe I should participate? I wonder if Mizuki is also competing. If not, I'll ask her to become my assistant'_ he supposed with glee and went back to his work behind the counter.

Izumi, meanwhile, grabbed his coat off the coat rack and signaled to Mizuki that it is time to get the supplies and ingredients.

"Wait," Mizuki called after him.

"What," he grunted, slightly annoyed; he couldn't help it since he was in a bad mood.

"You know…" Mizuki trailed off, "you don't need to compete…"

Izumi shut her up with a death glare so cold she could feel a shiver down her back.

"Is that all you have to say? Let's go then," he said taking her hand, as if it were the most normal thing for him to do.

A bit embarrassed by his sudden action, Mizuki decided it was nothing and said, "Um, are you sure you want to go out dressed like that?"

He glanced down, and grimaced. His princely clothing would draw too much attention to him. Good thing that he had a stash of Shuuichi's clothes somewhere. Izumi mumbled something incomprehensible, ran upstairs, and slammed his bedroom door shut.

'_So the prince has some temper management issues' _she silently noted. '_But he doesn't have to get that mad. Sheesh!'_

Izumi came out and caught Ashiya looking at him. '_Girls'_ he thought, shaking his head.

'_No matter how you look at him, he looks like a prince!'_ Mizuki's mind screamed.

His black long coat made him look even more mysterious, like a detective at work or something.

Seeing her stare, he quirked an eyebrow and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Hmm…." Mizuki looked at him grimly.

She walked up to him, tiptoed and rubbed his hair.

"That's more like it," she smiled happily.

Izumi felt a blush coming on, so he said to her, "What the hell are you doing?" and quickly turned his back to her.

'_Is that girl just plain too forward or is she just naive? I can't tell.'_

"Can we go now?" Izumi questioned impatiently.

~some time later~

Mizuki's eyes got wide with anticipation; everything seemed to amaze her. Now, her eyes looked longingly at the plush machine.

'_She wants that? But it's full of teddy bears!'_ Izumi thought.

'_I guess I'll get one for her then, as thanks for helping me out. That's all. Why am I giving her a tour of the supermarket again?'_ Izumi couldn't help but wonder.

~Flashback to buying eggs~

"What's wrong?" he asked her, noticing that she looked a bit down; her shoulders drooped like a dog's ears; she looked so helpless.

"I want to see the city," she said in a small voice.

"…" *hopeful eyes* "…alright. After we get the groceries," he told her.

"Why do we need to buy food and supplies? Aren't you a prince? You should have everything in the castle."

"True, but don't you think that's unfair for other competitors who need to go out and buy stuff? Plus, the supplies are also much fresher this way."

"Oh I see!" Mizuki exclaimed, and in the process, knocked down some vegetables.

Lettuce and cabbage spluttered on to the floor. She moved to pick them up, but when Izumi glared at her, she decided to back away immediately, knowing that the glare meant for Mizuki to stay still and not touch anything. While walking beside him in an awkward silence, Mizuki decided to start a conversation.

"How often do you grocery shop, Prince Izumi?"

Izumi stopped in his tracks."Not often. Rarely. Why?" he asked her.

"Well, you seem like a pro at choosing things…"

He sighed and spoke, "Well, my mom used to take me out with her to do grocery shopping. She loved to cook."

'_Why the hell am I even telling her this?'_ he couldn't help but wonder.

"Oh," she said, looking dejectedly at him.

'_Oh no,'_ Izumi thought. "What's wrong now?" he gently asked her.

"I felt like I just asked something very personal and I shouldn't ask questions like that."

~End flashback~

So, here they were, at the plush machine.

"Move," Izumi said to Mizuki. He found the white teddy bear and bushed the red button to get the claws onto the bear.

"Here you go," he presented the soft plush to her.

"I didn't want that one," Mizuki tried to persuade him, remembering how weird it would be for guys to want a plush. It just seemed too girly. "I wanted the light brown one for my friend."

Izumi's eye twitched. _'This girl,'_ he thought. "Just take it."

He put the white plush into her hands and stomped off like a prince.

'_How did he know I wanted this one?'_ Mizuki wondered.

A/N: Well here's the long awaited update you guys have been waiting for. Hope you guys liked it! My summer has just started, so I think I should be able to upload faster now, so do look forward to it. Please read and review! Thank you ^.^


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana-Kimi or the plot from Hana Kimi.

A/N: Made some minor revisions in Ch 4, and 7 (I made some revision to ch 9 also b/c I felt that I wasn't descriptive enough) if anyone wants to check out those chapters. I would also like to give special thanks to my friend Rose for reading my fic and giving me comments too! Okay, onto the fic.

Chapter 10 – It's Finally Here! Cooking Competition Here We Come!

Servants around the castle swarmed in and out of the courtyard like busy bees, carrying out tables, chairs, and other useful necessities for the cooking competition. In the hallways and front gates, young maids could be seen running around frantically like little ants with tape and banners in hand. Our brown haired heroine, Mizuki – at the moment – is occupied with arranging big yellow daisies.

"That's the last one!" Mizuki fastened the last pink ribbon and admired her hours worth of handy work.

Maybe she should consider making flower arrangement a new hobby. She'll have to contact Princess Julia later about importing some flower seeds into her castle garden.

The princess in disguise wiped off the sweat off her eyebrow. The scorching hot sun, although awfully warm and comforting, made Mizuki's cheeks red, as if she were blushing madly with embarrassment. Fanning herself helplessly in an attempt to cool herself down, Mizuki looked around for the pitcher filled with ice, cold water.

When Mizuki was about to give up after searching endlessly for the nonexistent water – they ran out unfortunately, and no one bothered to refill the pitcher – Shuuichi came to her rescue.

"Hey Mizuki!" he greeted brightly in his Kansai dialect and gave her a wave. Upon seeing Mizuki, he could already feeling his heart going thump thump thump.

'Maybe I should go to Dr. Umeda for a check up. I am not gay! But Mizuki looks kind of cute like that. Sitting in the sun, spreading his legs out like that.'

"Aren't you getting hot wearing such a dark colored hoodie and shorts on a sunny day?" the head chef asked her after finishing moving the chairs and tables. Sitting down beside the thirsty girl, he started talking about the cooking competition in general, how he's excited for it.

Mizuki noticed he wasn't wearing his normal chef attire with the tall French looking hat. Or maybe it was Italian? Instead, he had on a simple white t-shirt and black shorts. The white bandana replaced the chef hat.

"Oh yeah!" he snapped his hands.

Mizuki squeaked. That sudden action got her attention.

"Huh?" said Mizuki.

"Wait here," he told her, leaving his cold iced raspberry tea beside her.

"Um," she motioned the drink. He looked back. "Is it alright if I take a sip?"

"Why not? Go ahead." Strengthening out his clothes, he went to the other side of the courtyard and got out a pretty package of boxed clothing. The creamy white wrapping, she noticed, read 2009 Cooking Competition clothes (Prince Izumi & Mizuki).

Mizuki almost spilled the rest of the tea. Wiping the corner of her mouth with her free hand, Mizuki asked, "Why me also?" She had hoped that she wouldn't have to partake in it, but guess she was wrong.

"Well, you are his assistant after all. It's sad. I wanted you to be my assistant!" Shuuichi patted her on the head. "It's such a shame really," he continued.

Mizuki pulled his hand off her head and laughed nervously.

"Oh yeah, aren't you in the competition too?"

"Yep! I'll see you and the prince on the field."

"What are you wearing?" she asked, curious.

"That," he motioned his own package, which was smaller than the one for the prince, "is a secret."

"Awww," Mizuki pouted.

"Good luck tracking down the prince."

"Isn't he in his quarters?" Mizuki scratched her head. Why would it be hard to find the prince?

"Well, if I were the prince, I wouldn't want to be caught dead in those clothes too. Hurts my pride you know?" he said as they walked back towards Izumi's quarter.

"But aren't you doing so anyways?"

Shuuichi stopped to think and responded, "Yeah, but I'm just a cook. He, on the other hand, is the prince."

'_It's something I don't understand'_ Mizuki thought. _'Men and their pride.'_

"Should I take that for you?" Shuuichi pointed to the nearly finished iced tea in her hands. The few ice cubes jingled in the water.

"Oh yeah," she handed it to him. "Thanks!"

"It's no problem. I want a sip anyways."

'_Indirect kissing, here we come'_ he thought and was about to drink when one of his fellow waiters swiped the drink from his hand and drank it.

"What's with the dark atmosphere?" the clueless waiter wondered.

The source of the dark atmosphere – Shuuichi had a grim look graced over his features.

'_My indirect kiss…No!!!! I almost had it. That damn waiter had to take away my kiss…'_

"Nakatsu. Nakatsu?" Mizuki tried getting his attention without any avail for several moments. Sighing, she picked up the package and tried to find Prince Izumi, leaving the chef in his little world. By the time Shuuichi got to reality, Mizuki was already long gone.

'_Okay'_ Mizuki said to herself, looking at the grandfather clock chiming in Prince Izumi's bedroom.

She wasn't sure if she is allowed to enter his chamber, but hey, it is an emergency right? She only had 2 hours before the competition anyways. Speaking of which, maybe she should change into the clothes before finding Prince Izumi. Opening the beautiful wrapping surrounding the box, Mizuki took out the clothing labeled "Mizuki". Inside the bag, there was a long blond wig, a black hair band, white apron, and knee length light blue dress. There was even a pair of white heels that fit her. How they knew her shoe size, she didn't know and didn't hope to know. Making sure there was no one looking at her, she quickly changed into her costume. As she looked at herself in Prince Izumi's full body length mirror, she couldn't help but wonder if she would be exposed as a girl since she is wearing girl clothing. Normally, this would be considered cross-dressing, but for Mizuki, it's actually a girl cross-dressing as a guy that is cross-dressing as a girl. So confusing indeed. It was quick, but having 20/20 vision, Mizuki saw it; she saw Izumi's blur in the royal garden. Quickly, Mizuki ran out to catch the runaway prince.

"Stop!" Mizuki called, panting from trying to catch the prince. They had been at this for at least 45 minutes.

"No," he stated bluntly.

"But you promised to enter the competition!" she reminded him. "Or are you going back on your word?"

He started to slow down, but did not stop nonetheless. Mizuki decided to continue.

"Do you not wish to prove yourself to my brother?"

"……"

"Fine!" Mizuki said, getting very agitated with him.

"Do whatever you want. I don't care anymore!" she dropped his package and left angrily.

Seems like he had no choice now. This had better be worth it. He looked at his watch. He had some time before the competition. Opening the bag, he found a light orange floral Chinese dress that stopped an inch above his knees. There was also a long black wig and 2 chopsticks. Izumi sweat dropped. This might take a while, for he didn't know how to put his hair up with chopsticks. He glared at the black heels that also came with the costume. '_No way in hell am I wearing that.' _Or so he thought. The power of love, or according to Izumi, mere attraction due to similarity to his fiancé, is apparently very strong.

~Sometime right before the competition~

"Oii. Mizuki. Where's the prince?" Shuuichi asked, seeing that it was almost time to start, but there's no sign of Izumi.

"I'm here!" Izumi called out. The audience and competitors young and old alike turned and looked at their prince in drag. Gasps and fainting sounds were heard.

His black wig was pulled into an elegant bun adored by 2 rose patterned chopsticks. There was some loose lock of hair that fell down near his chin, giving him a childish girl look, but was nonetheless very elegant like. Maybe Mizuki didn't have to worry about being found out as a girl after all, for Prince Izumi, who is 100% male to her knowledge, looked even more beautiful than a girl. His beauty is really out of the world. She'll have to take a snapshot of his girl side before he disappears and changes back. Hopefully there will be photographers in this event.

"Okay, now that every competitor is here, let's begin!" one of the judges blew a whistle.

"Let's see how that little twerp does," Mizuki's brother muttered in his seat.

"If he doesn't win, I'm taking my little sister back."

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Please comment and review! I look forward to it! ^.^ Oh yeah, and if you guys are wondering why you never seem to see Izumi's father, King Sano is dealing with foreign affair elsewhere, so Izumi is pretty much taking care of things in Osaka Kingdom in stead of his father.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi

A/N: Hey there. I appreciated your reviews! All of you deserve a big chocolate chip cookie! Hope none of you are allergic to chocolate (not that it matters; it is all cyber lol). I'm not going to list your names onto the A/N since that might annoy some of you readers, but anyways, here's the long awaited chapter! Please review!

Chapter 11 – Prelude to Izumi's Past?

Izumi heard something go clack and found himself cringe at the sound. Letting out a long, slightly irritated sigh, he stopped marinating his chicken, cleaned his hands under the cold flowing crystal clear water, and wiped it dry with a small white towel located on the counter. He looked at the splattered flour and broken eggs on the ground. He wasn't too thrilled about having to clean this up later.

"Need any help?" he asked her, offering his clean hand.

Mizuki paused and looked up at the prince, as if contemplating whether or not she should take his outstretched hand. After a moment, she shook her head and proceeded with cleaning up her little mess. White flour covered at least half of the princess's face, making her look pale white like snow. He tried to hold a chuckle that seemed to travel up from his stomach to his throat as he saw her attempts in picking up the bowl of flour and sweeping the wasted flour on the floor. She just seemed like an adorable kitten that had done something wrong and tried too hard to make up for it. He found it cute, not that he could express it or anything. He fought hard not to smile at the messy girl on the floor. Strangely, he felt like her actions and attitude were really familiar to him; he just didn't know why. Frankly, it has been driving him crazy.

Mizuki blushed slightly at seeing the prince looking at her little mess. She knew she was quite clumsy, but today had been much worse! It has only been less than an hour, and within that time, she already managed to spill orange juice all over the poor guy, resulting in a very sticky mess, literally. At least he smelled like orange juice now she supposed. Oh yes, how could she forget the time when she went to the refrigerator to get a carton of milk. It would've been successful too if only the lid was fastened tightly. Unfortunately, it was loose, and she spilled at least a quarter of the carton. Thankfully Prince Izumi had been too occupied with cutting the fruits up to decorate them into a nice appetizer. At least, that's what she thought. She didn't know that Izumi had been secretly eying her all along; he wasn't stalking her with his eyes, nope! He preferred to call it making sure that Ashiya wasn't endangering his kitchen or herself for that manner. It's safety precautions for the good of everyone.

"Very clumsy today, aren't you Ashiya?" she heard Prince Izumi comment, shaking her from her current thoughts.

"Sorry," he heard her mumble.

"Well," he frowned. "Not that I want to pressure you or anything, but at this rate, it's going to be hard to catch up with the others."

"I'm sorry," Mizuki started to bow, but Izumi stopped her.

"No need to," he said. "Just try to be more careful from now on okay? And stay away from the pointy objects, from places where you might bump into, from the plates," he listed on and on.

"But what does that leave me with?" Mizuki asked him.

"You just need to stay quietly by my side," he whispered softly, but she caught it nonetheless.

That comment surprised her. She thought he'd say something along the lines like "Get away from my kitchen and don't touch anything!"

'_He has softened up since I saw him the first time huh.'_ she wondered, softening her gaze at the prince. She remembered how he used to glare much more often as if to put up a barrier against other people. She wondered what happened to him in the past, and why did he look so much in pain when she brought up about him hating to cook. At least he smiled and laughed more often nowadays. Why, she wasn't so sure – she is unaware about her influence on the prince – but she was happy for him. Perhaps, it wasn't too bad that she is engaged to the guy. But she didn't want to leave his side; she wanted to stay her with him and her friends longer. That's why they had to get first place. Her brother can't make her go back home!

'_I wonder what's up with that fire and determination I feel building up from her. This could be amusing'_ he let out a small smile.

Far away in the V.I.P. section, a black haired, middle-aged judge could be seen with binoculars. Suddenly, he exclaimed with utmost passion, "He smiled! Prince Izumi smiled!" His mind did a little victory dance.

He made a note for the photographers to secretly take a snapshot of it. He had seen Izumi since he was a small child, and it's a pity that the boy never once seemed to smile or laugh sincerely since that incident. He felt bad for the boy, and saw the kid as his long lost nephew that he never had before. He used to be close to the lad, but now, the boy had shut himself off from the world. From that smile, could it be that he's finally starting to open up? Could that small brunette cook beside him be the key to change him? He sure hoped so.

"What's with such enthusiasm over a little smile?" Mizuki's older brother asked the guy.

The man took a good look at Shizuki and realized that the man wasn't from around here.

'_It all makes sense!'_ the light bulb seemed to go off in his head.

"Well, you aren't from around here, so you wouldn't know, but Prince Izumi hates cooking, especially elegant dishes such as these. Care to know why?"

"Why not," Shizuki shrugged. He could use a productive talk about his potential brother in law, not that the prince will marry his precious little sister. The little twerp annoyed him when he was little and that will not change now!

"But I could not see what that has to do with this," Shizuki pointed out. What connection did smiling have to do with cooking? This black haired man must be crazy!

The older man sipped his hot tea and smiled at Shizuki and gestured towards the couple. Shizuki looked and saw the relief and gentleness that seemed to emit from Prince Izumi.

"You saw it right? How he seems to enjoy cooking right now?"

"Yes," Shizuki hesitated for a moment before sinking further into his comfortable black sofa chair. "Are you saying that because of that assistant cook, he is comfortable with cooking?"

"I sure hope so. Now, why do you suppose that the prince hates to cook?"

Shizuki shrugged. He couldn't think of anything bad to do with cooking.

"Maybe he burned himself when he was younger?" he offered.

"Good try, my lad. But alas no."

"Care to tell me then?" curiosity sparked somewhere within Shizuki. As the saying goes, know thy enemy.

~About Nakatsu~

Oh yeah, I didn't know how to put Nakatsu in, so in case you guys were wondering, Nakatsu is working near them, about a few spaces down, and he's wearing a light pink nurse costume. He's wearing a long blond wig that is put up into two high ponytails. Looks a bit too manly, but fun to look nonetheless (the manliness is probably b/c of his muscles…don't know if he has them in Hana Kimi, but I suppose so if he's on the soccer team, but feel free to tell me if I'm wrong.

A/N: Oh no! A cliffhanger! I wonder what happened in Izumi's past? Anyone wants to try to guess? Nope he didn't burn himself, and he is an outstanding cook. It might be revealed in the next or few chapters after this, so please read and review. Constructive feedback is also welcome! I wonder if you guys liked the description I put in, or is it annoying you guys? Also, I hoped Izumi is in character (wanted to make him seem shut off, closed off didn't want to approach ppl but slowly warmed up to him and become open w/ Mizuki's appearance.) Anyways, please read and review! I really enjoy reading them, and I always try to make the stories better by taking your comments and seeing how I should improve so do review!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi or the plot. So the scene ideas are from Hana Kimi, but I changed it to suit my story about Princess Mizuki being a chef. So it's like following Hana Kimi plot somewhat, but cooking/palace style. Hope I make sense? I felt like I should make it clear that I do not own the ideas.

**A NOTE TO THE READERS:**

**I'm thinking ahead here. I wanted to ask the readers your opinions about how Mizuki and Izumi will meet as prince/princess b/c I can write both ways, but will need reviews for this alright? Okay, should Mizuki showing up at the dance (where Mizuki/Izumi will finally meet as prince/princess, should he know it's her, or should he just think they happen to look alike and find out later? b/c she'll have her long wig on, so he might just think it's a coincidence that they look alike. If that is the case, a coincidence, I'll also have her switch back and forth in the ball and for a couple of chapters, then get mad at her when he finds out. If he catches that it is her, then he'll probably get mad. Which should I do? It depends on your reviews! I hope my explanation wasn't too confusing. **

A/N: Hi there. Hope you guys read the note to the readers. I'm also very happy that I already have 59 reviews! Keep the reviews and comments coming! It makes me feel special and makes me work more quickly too, as sad as it seems. I also like people critiquing my work since it does make me write better, and hence write a better story for all people that read my fic, so if you feel like I'm writing too little description, or if I'm writing too little, tell me and I'll write longer chapters. Thanks for the support!

Chapter 12 – And The Result Is?

Hokuto walked down the path, heading toward the judge's table. He looked at his "prey" and smiled. He hasn't seen Shizuki for a long while now. The poor guy didn't know what was in store for him.

"Oh, is the competition almost done?" Hokuto asked the unsuspecting Shizuki, already knowing how Shizuki would react upon seeing him.

Let's just say the last time Hokuto went to pick Rio and Mizuki up, Shizuki ended up being homophobic.

Hokuto looked down at the table, seeing little cookies, crackers, and even tea! He moved his fingers down Shizuki's back. Shizuki looked like he wanted to puke.

"Yay free food. Hey Shizuki!" he waved happily to Shizuki.

Shizuki looked scared and contemplated whether to run for it or not, wondering if his little sister is more important than his homophobia. He decided that his little sister is worth making a sacrifice for.

Hokuto eyed Shizuki, asking him why Shizuki was wearing such weird attire.

Shizuki looked surprised at his comment. Frankly, he thought he was very clever with his disguise. The black sun glasses were supposed to make him look mysterious, and the dark clothing was supposed to make him less eye catching. Did it have an opposite affect, he wondered?

"Your blond hair isn't helping much either," Hokuto commented. "You stick out like a sore thumb."

"I'm undercover," he replied to Hokuto, crossing his arms to look intimidating.

He wasn't sure if it worked or not though, for Hokuto retorted sarcastically back.

"Right. You are a judge for this competition. You can't be more eye catching than this."

"Damn!" Shizuki said, realizing what Hokuto said was true.

"So, what do you think of Osaka Kingdom?" Hokuto asked as he took out a cigarette and lighted it.

"Not too good or too bad," he replied.

"Excuse me?" Hokuto asked, offering Shizuki a cigarette.

"You know I don't smoke," Shizuki said, deadpanned.

Hokuto shrugged.

"Who knows, you might've tried during the time we didn't meet."

"You know, there are a lot of good things that happen around here," Hokuto said, adjusting his glasses while letting out another puff of smoke.

The smoke started to bother Shizuki, who started coughing. Hokuto seemed to take note of this and chuckled. Then he dropped the cigarette and put his foot over it, ceasing the light.

"What good things?" Shizuki wondered.

"Things like an exchange chef covering as a chef but is actually here to observe her fiancé. Very interesting right?"

Hokuto wondered how Mizuki's older brother would react. The look could be priceless.

"Yes," Shizuki replied, gulping the coffee down, hoping he wouldn't spill the coffee.

"But this chef is actually female," Hokuto continued.

At this, Shizuki's eyes bulged, the coffee spilling everywhere by this point.

"A petite and cute girl. It seems Prince Izumi really wants her to stay here. He hates cooking so much too. The poor guy," Hokuto said as he got out some pre-prepared napkins and cleaned the spill.

Hokuto probably planned it from the start.

"About the hate…may I ask why?"

"Yep. Don't know specific details, but it seems when he was ten, his mother, who is a talented chef, disappeared after making him a big gourmet dinner. Think of how shocking that must be for the kid. It happened on his birthday too. And yet, he never shed a single tear during that incident and onwards.

"What do you mean disappeared? Isn't she the queen?"

"Dunno. I heard she had an affair with one of the servants. Of course Prince Izumi is really troubled by this, and couldn't forgive her. The queen never returned home either."

"Why do you dislike Prince Izumi so much though Prince Shizuki?" he asked, touching Shizuki's face.

Shizuki backed away, disgusted by the sudden affection.

"My, my. You aren't used to my gayness yet?" Hokuto looked sad and shocked, sighing and putting his hands over his heart.

"Get away. Don't touch me!" Shizuki demanded.

"But it's so much fun teasing you!"

"You know how much I detest homos."

"I know, that's why I do it," Hokuto revealed.

"It's on purpose?!" Shizuki asked, flustered.

"Common give me a quick kiss," Hokuto said, edging closer and closer.

The people around them are wondering what the judges were doing. They looked very suspicious, but fortunately, most of the people and the audience were preoccupied with watching the competition, not the judges. Afraid of what Hokuto may do next, Shizuki decided to run away from Hokuto and hide.

However, before getting out of earshot, he heard Hokuto say with a serious face, "But Shizuki, whatever you do or think of saying, please do it after seeing the real Prince Izumi. Don't let your prejudice of him get in the way."

At that moment, Shizuki looked from the sidelines, hearing the alarm buzz, which signaled the end of the competition.

The rest of the judges, save for Shizuki sampled all of the foods and declared Prince Izumi and Mizuki as the winner.

"I did it, I really did it! I didn't think I could!" Prince Izumi said, hugging Mizuki out of happiness.

"Ah!What the hell are you guys doing?!" Shizuki shouted from the sidelines.

Mizuki knew he'd get first place. His preparation and the form for the food and pastry looked very elegant and beautiful. She even taste tested a few. The food was really on a higher level than hers. She still wondered why he hated to cook though. Would he ever tell her why?

Embarrassed and blushing beet red, Prince Izumi faced Mizuki and said "Let's go back and walk Yujiro. He must be very lonely now."

"Sure," he heard her say.

His food style and form were flawless.

"Sano you did it!" Shuuichi congratulated.

"You aren't bad yourself. You got second place!" Mizuki exclaimed.

"Yeah, but who knew the prince could cook this well!" Shuuichi said.

"Yeah, who knew," Prince Izumi said a bit solemnly.

Shuuichi handed Mizuki a letter.

"Your bro told me to give you this before he left," Shuuichi explained, scratching his head.

"At least come home for Christmas and New Years," it read.

Mizuki cried, bringing the note close to her face. She was really happy and relieved. She got to stay here a bit longer with her friends and Prince Izumi.

"What did he say?" Prince Izumi questioned.

"Good luck," she said. "He told me good luck."

'_Thank you, brother.'_

Somewhere on a plane, Shizuki cried endlessly in his first class seat. The flight attendants shook their heads sadly, wondering if the guy was okay in the head. They whispered to each other.

"Should we do something about this guy?" The flight attendants wondered, but decided to leave him alone.

"Should we offer him some ice cream?" a black haired flight attendant whispered to her coworkers.

"I'm not sure. I think he'll get more emotional," another one whispered back.

"Let's just ignore him," they decided and got back to their work.

A/N: Well hope you guys liked it! Here's also a little note to my readers who I couldn't reply to by PM.

Linh-Chi: I shall continue this story and will try to update it regularly. I hope you will give me your opinion about how Izumi should react when he finds out. Thanks for your review!

Mikanou: Glad you love my interpretation. Hope you liked what happened to Sano and cooking, although the story is not from Sano's viewpoint just yet, so you may be unclear on why it hurts Sano so much. And I read the manga, Japanese drama and twdrama. You should check out the Jap version too (it had the dance scene too, although I think it's different from the manga…) thanks for the review!


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi

A/N: Woah! 50 readers just this month alone! Wait, no, now it's 61! That means 11 more read my fanfic while I was on vacation. Such improvement there! =) I'm a bit disappointed that not many people reviewed despite the many hits, so I hope more of you guys would take a bit of your time and review my fanfic!

Oriosafinch: Thank you for your comments! I really appreciate it! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 13 – I Can't Go Back Home!

~After the competition~

Izumi turned on the water faucet. Warm water oozed down onto his fingertips. Bending down, he scrubbed off the excess makeup from his face, wondering how girls could stand wearing all these different chemicals on their face all day. It made his skin way too stiff and itchy. Determined to never ever go through such a ridiculous and insane thing again, he tore off his wig and slammed it into the trashcan.

The wig smelled of orange juice, curtsy of Mizuki spilling the orange juice on him earlier. Then, sighing inwardly, Izumi called his servants to get his bath ready. He replaced his sticky chinese dress with a white, fluffy towel that was laid out beside his bedside counter and entered his bathroom, his thoughts drifting back to the end of the competition.

'_How the hell did I manage to win both the cooking competition as well as the beauty pageant that I didn't even know was going on?' _he pondered as he started washing his back with a bar of soap. Soap bubbles formed in his hands, tumbling upward towards his violet stained glass dome until it disappeared from sight.

He remembered that the judges of the competition presented him with flowers and a check of a million dollars for winning the cooking competition, which he immediately gave to one of his three generals – Megumi Tennoji. The general bowed, took the check, and put it into his shirt pocket. The check would be given to charity for the orphans within Osaka Kingdom.

Just when he thought everything was over, the lights started shining on him.

He could still feel the stares people gave him. The thought made the prince cringe slightly, his back feeling a small but noticeable chill.

Masking his slight confusion with a cool, withdrawn expression, Prince Izumi stared at the audience and at the MC.

"Let's give a round of applause to our first Osaka Kingdom Kitchen Beauty!" the MC gave a meek smile and clapped his hands, encouraging others to join in. Slowly, people started clapping, not sure what was going on either.

"And here's the crown and ribbon that goes with it," the MC continued after presenting him with roses.

'......' Izumi thought.

--End Flashback--

"NOOOOO!!!" Izumi heard a loud scream outside his chamber as he started drying his wet hair with his towel.

He peaked through the door slightly, his hazel brown eyes focusing on a petite looking female in disguise.

"What is it, Ashiya?" he called out, wondering why she's so loud in the morning.

He walked out of his chambers, glanced to the direction her eyes were glued to, and ripped the paper up, glaring at the floor.

"Stupid father," she heard him slam the shredded paper into the garbage can.

"Why the hell does he have to do this now? It just has to be the Osaka Kingdom's Left Wing out of all places!" he ranted silently to himself, trying to control his emotions.

"Hey Naba! What's going on?" Shuuichi stopped the general in the hallway and immediately started to question him with endless questions as he held a copy of the notice up for Minami to see.

"Yeah...the pipes aren't working. They are rusting and breaking left and right, so the king decided to redo everything," Minami informed with utmost professionalism. He didn't even appear intimidated by Shuuichi's pestering voice.

"And where are we going to stay?" Shuuichi quickly inquired before Mizuki could.

'_Yeah, where are we going to stay?' _Mizuki frowned. _'I just cleared the situation with my older brother, and I know he wouldn't let me come back if I show up at home again.'_

"Oh, about that," Minami said. Prince Izumi also listened in, eager to know how this event would proceed. "I don't know."

The rest of the group sweatdropped.

"You don't know?!" Shuuichi flared up. "What are the rest of the people in the Left Wing going to do then?"

"It's just three days, Shuuichi," Minami tried to reason unsuccessfully.

"What is Mizuki supposed to do then? Sleep in a tent?!"

"Well, I do have a spare one in my bedroom somewhere," Minami tried to ease up the situation with a joke.

"Argh!" Minami yelled. "I don't wanna go back to my home!"

"Where is his home?" Mizuki asked the prince quietly.

"Technically, it's not a home. It's a ship," Izumi answered.

"A ship?" Mizuki looked confusingly at him.

Izumi explained his words. "His family owns a big cruise line, and they always travel place to place, so their house is really just a very big cruise."

"Oh," Mizuki said.

"Hey, wouldn't it be a great idea for Mizuki and the rest of the Left Wing go board your ship for a while? It could be like a vacation!" Minami exclaimed.

"You just want to see hot girls, don't you?" Shuuichi glared at him.

"I think it's a great idea," Izumi said.

"You do, my prince?" Shuuichi asked.

"Yeah, apparently, Ashiya has never been on a ship before since she looks so confused at my explanation."

"Well," Mizuki scratched her head shyly. "Where I was from, we had no need for boats or ships. We like to fly."

The others nodded.

"Make it two weeks Shuuichi," Izumi told his head chef. "We'll be back at the castle in two weeks."

A/N: Hmm, it's a bit short, but it'll do, I think? I hope the description is slightly better? If not, feel free to tell me it isn't. I'll actually thank you because I want to improve my writing so that everyone could enjoy my fanfic more. I do hope to see more reviews though since reviews make me happy! Seriously, it's like a drug. Once you see one, you just keep having the energy to continue and be so happy! Uh, I'll stop ranting now.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi.

A/N: Technically, I should update my other fanfics, but seeing that this fanfic has reached 80 reviews, I'll have to update for this special occasion! I do hope the reviews keep coming though! I'll be really happy if I break the 100-review record, although that is dependant on you guys! Anyways, without further ado, here's the long awaited chapter!

Last time:

"Make it two weeks Shuuichi," Izumi told his head chef. "We'll be back at the castle in two weeks."

**Chapter 14 – Welcome Aboard to Nakatsu Waterlines!**

"Prince Izumi," Izumi heard his general call out from the chamber's doorway.

Izumi looked up from his black duffel bag that was full of his personal belongings – a couple sets of clothes, toothpaste, hairbrush, and some other necessities. Minami crossed his arms lazily, leaning into the glossy brown, wooden door. His dark red duffel bag lay beside him on the floor, ready to be picked up and go.

"Yes?" Izumi replied, and signaled the black haired general to come in.

"Two weeks my prince?" Minami walked in casually and asked, a bit astonished that the prince wanted to be out of the castle for that long.

After all, Minami believed it is never a wise thing to have both the prince and king out of the castle at the same time.

'_What would happen if a war or invasion were to occur? The citizens would be in turmoil. Really, what is the prince thinking?'_

"Yeah, why not?" Izumi answered, and continued packing his shampoo and soap into his unzipped bag.

After all, he could never stand those shampoos and shower gels given for bathroom use in hotels or cruises. The smell almost always left Izumi nauseous and queasy. Who knew what they used in those products anyways? They could've killed countless whales or sea otters just to get their fat! It's way better to stick to the herbal soaps and shampoos, Izumi decided. Who would've thought he were such an environmentalist? Save the oceans and planet people!

"In two weeks, a lot of things could occur," the general pointed out while the prince readied his cruise card.

'_Good thing Shuuichi owns the cruise line, so we can get the cards anytime. It would've been a hassle to go through passport check and stuff'_ Izumi thought happily as he put the cruise card into his wallet, not that he was outwardly expressing his emotions.

Minami unconsciously got out his own cruise card, which like the other cruise cards that were distributed to all the residents in the Left Wing, acted as a key card and debit card. Apparently, Izumi already put in $300 for everyone to have fun on the cruise.

"You're too serious general. I've already written a letter to my father, and he'll be back in duration while we are gone. It doesn't hurt to have fun once in a while right?"

"I never thought I'll hear you say that," Minami said, but still looked unsure.

"Alright. How about this? We'll go for a week. Just a week all right? Geez General Nanba, you really need a break from work."

"And when were you such a carefree person Prince Izumi?"

Izumi looked lost in his thoughts and paused for a short moment. '_Me? A carefree person? Really, I'm not sure either_' Izumi realized.

'When did I become so carefree? I used to view the world so negatively and dark, like there's no bright side to life. And yet, when Ashiya appeared, I feel like there's nothing I can't do. I wonder why? How could she have such an impact on me?'

"Prince Izumi?" General Minami tried to get the prince's attention and smiled slightly.

Never in all his years of serving the teenage prince had Minami seen Prince Izumi display such emotions. Before Mizuki Ashiya arrived, Prince Izumi was like a cold person, heart like a stone, so dark and empty. Maybe it's a good change for the prince. Being dark and moody may one day cause the Prince to die before his death time. Okay, bad joke, Minami shook his head.

"Go and see if Ashiya, Nakatsu, Nakao, Sekime, and Noe are done. Tell them to meet me outside in the courtyard if they are done okay? I'm going to go on ahead."

"Okay," Minami said as Izumi walked out the door, his duffel bag in tow.

Izumi walked out to the courtyard, sniffling in the warm air breeze. Sitting down and enjoying the view, he slowly spread his legs out into a v-shape, deep in thought.

It's not as if what General Minami said to him bothered him. Okay, maybe it did, just a bit. For one that is engaged, he definitely should not be having feelings towards another girl right? Princess Mizuki does not deserve such an indecent action. He can't be two-timing her.

'But why is it that Princess Mizuki and Mizuki Ashiya share the same name? Isn't Princess Mia's last name Ashiya? Is it that normal for a princess and a commoner to share the same name and surname?' a part of his mind reminded him.

Rolling over to his side, he could feel the leaves blowing in the now harsh wind. At least the sun was still shining bright and warm.

'Why indeed,' he pondered. An overlapping image of the little Princess Mizuki and Mizuki the chef appeared in his mind.

"Perhaps, they are the same person?" he whispered to himself then shook his head.

'No that couldn't be. No matter how much they resemble each other, even to the point of sharing the same name, that couldn't be possible. I haven't seen Princess Mizuki for so many years that seeing a girl with the same name and similarity just makes me think it's her. After all these years, I still have a soft spot for Princess Mizuki don't I? But then, what does Mizuki Ashiya mean to me? Why do I always think of her instead of a three-year-old girl I've always wished to meet again?'

Hazel brown eyes met with chocolate brown eyes.

"Princess Mia?" Izumi mumbled, his eyes in a half daze.

Mizuki's heart stopped. 'He realized the truth? No, it's too soon!' her mind screamed. 'Is he going to be mad at me?'

Izumi caressed her cheek with his left hand gently.

"Mia," she heard him say. "Princess Mia, I missed you so much. I'm sorry I couldn't keep the promise we made."

'Promise we made? What in the world is he talking about? And he called me Princess Mia. No one but my close friends and family call me that. But I don't recall meeting him before disguising as a guy?'

"What promise?" she shook him gently while the other guys ran frantically about to get their prince some ice cold water to drink, thinking that he passed out from the hot air.

"Eh? Ashiya?" Izumi pushed her off him and got up.

"You, are you all right?" Mizuki exclaimed.

"I was just dizzy a moment ago. Did I pass out from the heat?"

"Oh, was it? You have to take better care of yourself Prince Izumi!"

"Prince Izumi!" the rest of the group called.

"Are you alright?" General Nanba inquired, handing the prince an ice pack.

"Um thanks, but I think I'm fine guys?"

"It's just a heat stroke," Mizuki told the others.

"Let's get going then," Sekime said.

"Welcome to the cruise!" Rio greeted the group in a sailor uniform. "I'll be your guide during your trip!"

"Why are you here," Shuuichi asked.

"Of course, it's because I'm your tour guide!" she twirled her dress around prettily. Sekime and Noe looked in awe, their jaws dropping in an o shape.

"Not you, him!" Shuuichi said, pointing rudely to a suntanned Hokuto Umeda. "And where'd you get that suntan?!"

"Oh this?" Dr. Umeda grinned. "It's called a suntan lotion. It washes right off with water. That way, I can be tan or pale when I want!" he proclaimed.

"Can we not change the subject?" Shuuichi complained, frowning.

"Well, you were the one who changed it yourself," Dr. Umeda told the guy.

"Your room isn't under reconstruction, so why the hell are you here?"

"The same reason Rio is here."

"You're our tour guide?" Shuuichi asked.

"No, my family is in charge of your food services. And you, heir to the Nakatsu Waterlines, does not know this?"

Minami and Sekime snickered. Nakatsu blushed an interesting pink shade, embarrassed.

"Well, I don't go home often!" he reasoned. Dr. Umeda gave him a 'yeah right' look.

"I know," Dr. Umeda replied. "Or else you wouldn't have been Prince Izumi's playmate since he was 7 years old."

'I wonder how a 7 year old Prince Izumi would be? Wait, why am I fantasizing a cute little black haired version of the cold prince? Him smiling happily taking my little 3-year-old self, running across the courtyard. Ow!! My head hurts' Mizuki clutched her head in her hands.

A worried expression crossed Izumi's face. He supported her weight and helped her along with Rio to an unoccupied bench.

"Mizuki?" worried voices spoke to the princess in disguise.

'What was that about?' Mizuki wondered.

"Are you alright?" Shuuichi asked with evident concern in his voice.

"Would you like a cold drink?" Sekime and Noe offered.

"No thanks, I'm all right," she assured them.

Izumi briefly put a hand to her forehead and felt his own with his free hand.

"You have a fever," he proclaimed. "Rest."

"But I'm all right!" she insisted.

"Be a good kid and go to bed. Where's the room key?" Izumi asked Rio.

"It's the card," Rio reminded him helpfully. "But I hope you don't mind sharing a room with your chef since we are out of rooms," Rio said.

"I don't mind," Izumi answered, surprising the rest of the group. Surely, they thought he'd oppose sleeping in the same room as another guy. Simultaneously, they thought –'The prince is full of surprises today. Next thing we know, he might start doing the cha cha cha.'

"Well come aboard to the best water airlines – Nakatsu Waterlines! Please enjoy your week with us!" Rio greeted the group happily.

"Okay, I'm off to sun tanning guys," Dr. Umeda informed the teenagers and walked into the elevator. "Don't you want to take Ashiya up to your room?" he asked Izumi.

A/N: Yay! Izumi and Mizuki share a room! Many surprises to come…So keep tuning in and review! The more ppl review, the more enthusiastic I am to write! ^.^

Flamingbunnies: Hey there! Since you haven't been on a cruise I'll do my best in describing it for you so you can imagine it! ^.^


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi.

A/N: Sorry for the very late update! And it's too short, but I wanted to at least update for you guys when I can, so tell me what you think about this chapter! And I apologize in advance since I do not know when the next chapter will be, but if I see a lot of reviews, like way more than usual, say 20 or more for this chapter, I'll update fast. If not, I'll do it when I have time. Sorry my hw is just too much! But I do promise that I think you guys will enjoy the next few chapters in the Cruise ark! There's going to be a surprise appearance soon in about 3 chapters!

**Chapter 15 – Ice Cream, Here I Come!**

Mizuki slowly opened her delicate brown eyes, her vision quietly coming into focus. She took in the unfamiliar sight of the dark green curtains that were neatly tied by a couple of golden, silky strings. The ocean, Mizuki noticed as she glanced at the visible window, seemed so blue and clear. Oh, how she wanted to swim!

On her far right is the closet, she noticed as she continued to survey her new room. There is another forest green bed, identical to the one she occupied that was filled with the prince's duffel bag and belongings, half unpacked.

'_How long had I been out? It must be around four by now' _she noted to herself and changed into a pair of white shorts and a light green hoodie. '_I think I'll go exploring for a bit then.'_

Tiptoeing out of her room, she looked both ways before bolting out to the elevators. Letting out a breath she didn't even know she held, the short haired princess entered the large glass elevator, her eyes glued to the scenery before her.

'_Such pretty decorations'_ she mused happily. '_It's even more elegant than the castle! Is that even all right?!'_

Her mind gawked at the fine artworks displayed along the walls, the high ceiling, and delicate tapestries that decorated the main building, erm, deck, in this case.

'_Wa! It's ice cream!'_ Mizuki practically ran over to the ice cream machine and swirled some chocolate strawberry ice cream into a cone once she found the dining area. A young golden haired princess looked at Mizuki with surprise. A wide smile then graced her lips.

"Mizuki!" Princess Julia shouted.

Mizuki looked up momentarily from her cone, her smile widening more and more with each passing second. She ran quickly, the slight breeze pushing her hair back.

"Julia!" she calls out cheerfully.

"Mizuki!" Julia's arms widened to envelope her into a hug. However, she suddenly shrieked, looking a bit alarmed. Her hands frantically moved in different directions as if to convince Mizuki that something is wrong. Mizuki looked blankly at Julia and returned a puzzled look, completely oblivious to the ice cream that's dripping onto her hoodie.

"Your clothes!" Julia finally said, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Eh?!" Mizuki yelled. "Oh no! What should I do? I can't go back like this to change. Prince Izumi might be back."

Julia pursed her lips in deep thought. Then she grabbed Mizuki's hand, saying "Okay, let's do this then. Let's go to my room for a moment," and pushed Mizuki lightly to make her way through the growing crowd of people.

"Okay, I'm not even going to ask why you brought along brunette colored wigs with you on a cruise. And it's not even your hair color!" Mizuki exclaimed as they sat on a pale, blue, seashell patterned covered bed.

'_What does hair color have to do with anything? For all I know, people dye their hair'_ Julia sweat dropped at Mizuki's reaction, but nonetheless returned an innocent looking face towards her friend. Mizuki heard Julia murmur something close to "self interest and hobby" and was about to make a comment but decided against it, not wanting to delve into it deeper. After all, this layered bob haired wig makes her look like a girl enough.

Julia had mixed feelings about seeing Mizuki though. Sure, she was happy since she hasn't seen Mizuki for weeks, even months. She wanted to know about Mizuki's well being. Something about that girl's personality just makes Julia worry for Mizuki's just too innocent at times, for a lack of a better explanation. Julia could somehow tell that this trip will end up disastrous. It just is, or why else would her right eye twitch nonstop?

Mizuki raised an eyebrow, amused at Julia's different expressions. Giggling silently, Mizuki sneaked out from the patio and hunted for ice cream. A couple of strangers, three teenage guys to be exact, started to surround her. Apparently, she's their prey.

"Hey cutie!" a guy with a long ponytail appeared behind her and hugged her waist. Mizuki shrieked loudly, socking his groin.

"Common, don't be like this sweetheart," another guy smacked his lips, edging closer and closer, but leaving enough distance to save himself from her self defense.

"You look a bit worried. Common, let's have some fun," the last guy suggested, grabbing her right hand and pulling her close too him.

Mizuki tried to free her hand, but his grip didn't budge an inch. She looked around, but to her disappointment, there were no speculators to help her out. She continued struggling, silently hoping for Prince Izumi to come and rescue her.

'_Hold on, what? Why Prince Izumi of all people?'_ she wondered. _'It could've been Julia, Nakatsu, or even Naba!'_

"Let me go!" she continued to scream, at this point resorting to recklessly flinging her hands in all directions and trying to stomp on their feet. This would have worked well, except for the fact that the three men were stronger than her, and hence her flinging and thrashing had no impact on them. And her stomps would have been perfect, only if they landed on their feet.

"Didn't you guys hear her? The lady said to let…go…" a guy with dark, black sunglasses said from behind the three boys, sounding out each word carefully.

"What's it with you?" a stupid looking red haired punk asked. "She your girlfriend or something?"

The black haired stranger looked at them and smirked, "Let her go," he repeated. "…Or else I might do something I regret."

"Whoops, too late," he continued, his arm punching one of the guys in the face. "My hand slipped," he said sarcastically.

"We'll get you for this," the long haired guy squeaked and stumbled off after his two friends.

"You all right?" the cool looking guy with shades asked and he'd get out a hand.

"Thank you," Mizuki said. "You know, a small pretty girl like you shouldn't go to places alone," he whispered in her ear and walked off. He came and went like the silent wind.

"Mizuki stood there for a moment. '_Wait, did he say smell?!' _she thought and wondered if that was an insult or a compliment.

Mizuki returned to her room around fifteen minutes later after bidding farewell to Julia. Glad that Prince Izumi hasn't returned yet, Mizuki changed out of Julia's blue halter dress and pulled off her wig. She looked out at the ocean and wondered why she felt like she knew the dark haired rescuer.

Outside in a resting room with a lot of soft sofa, Izumi slumped down, removing his black shades. '_Who was that girl?_' he pondered. His mind automatically went to the time Mizuki wore girl's clothing to convince her brother. '_But it's a different wig. But if it were her, why doesn't she recognize me? Why doesn't she seem alarmed at all?'_ Deciding that he should return to his room to change for the evening, Izumi walked constantly to the room he shared with Mizuki. '_I wonder if she's up yet.'_

A/N: Sorry again! Please review!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi.

A/N: Hi everyone. Sorry for not updating for a veeery long time. Every time I try to update, something bad happens. It's either time for exams and papers, or my dad needs the computer. Then my lab top crashed *cries* I wonder if that myth about lab tops crashing within two years is true. Mine was two years and a month *sobs in a corner*

Anyways, again, I apologize, but I appreciate all of your patience. I really hate it when the stories I read are interesting but aren't updated. I hope this chapter is worthwhile for your long wait though! It's a short update though....

**Chapter 16 – An Unfated Meeting?! **

"Mizuki, wake up. It's your turn to use the shower," Izumi told her while drying his dripping jet black hair with a white towel. He looked at her sleeping form, and for some reason, thought that she greatly resembled that girl he helped out earlier.

'_Those clothes lying on the ground there…it was her wasn't it? That stupid girl'_ he wanted to smack her, or did he want to smack himself? She's supposed to be low key, and yet, she dressed as a girl outside. It's a good thing it's him she bumped into; if it were someone else…oh, he didn't want to think about what would have happened.

He noticed that she looked up for a second, but her eyes were still closed. She mumbled something incomprehensible and yawned like a little kitten. Izumi secretly found it adorable and fought an urge not to smile. Slowly, she opened her dazzling chocolate brown eyes.

"But I already showered though," Mizuki said to him complained to him sleepily.

"Okay. Let's go downstairs for the dinner then," Izumi instructed, already heading towards the door and looked back at her once more.

'_Seriously, the longer I stay, the longer it's dangerous to my heart. I feel like it could burst out any second! Why am I feeling this way? Am I sick?'_ he thought to himself.

Once outside, Mizuki raised her arms and stretched. As they walked outside to the deck, the two could see Shuuichi on the other side. Mizuki was about to wave and shout to him, but then stopped since Shuuichi seemed to have an annoyed look crossing his face.

"Look lady," Shuuichi said on the other side. "I don't know who you think you are, but shouldn't you apologize to me?"

"Why should I?" a long, golden haired elegant looking girl asked, gritting her teeth. She's definitely mad, Mizuki observed, not that she could see the girl's face. Then realization dawned on her – it's Julia.

'_That doesn't look too good'_ Mizuki thought.

Izumi just looked at the scene and at Mizuki.

'_Looks like I'm forgotten'_ Prince Izumi sulked slightly, not that Mizuki noticed.

"You grabbed me and slapped my face…" Shuuichi tried to explain. He was sure today wasn't his day. Not his day at all.

"Well…how was I supposed to know that you were just teasing each other? I thought this girl was in serious trouble!" Princess Julia threw her arms up in the air, referring to how Shuuichi and one of the workers had looked suspicious a minute before.

Julia heard the girl scream, so thinking the worst, she stepped in without realizing the situation beforehand.

"Exactly, so shouldn't you apologize?" he repeated. _'Man, this girl is dense and lacks manners.'_

"No, you should apologize to me," she said stubbornly, a frown evident on her face.

"What?!" Shuuichi said, getting annoyed with this girl's attitude. She's beautiful but man, she has attitude problems.

"You see, you made me misunderstand and hence, wasted my time and energy. But I'm not a horrible person so I'm not even gonna make you apologize. Besides, does a golden hair monkey know how to apologize anyways?"

"First you slap me, and now you call me a monkey?" his anger meter maxed out. '_That's it, no more Mr. Nice Guy.'_

"No. I called you a GOLDEN haired monkey. There's a big difference there. Anyways, mind moving? I'm gonna be late for dinner."

Seeing that he's not going to move, Julia shoved him, making him almost off balance.

"Hey lady! Wait! Don't think you can just call me a monkey and leave!" Shuuichi called after her, but she was already out of his sight.

'_Just my luck_' he thought.

Shuuichi got off the elevator and walked into the dining room.

'_Seems like they aren't here yet'_ he thought.

A wave of nausea hit him. '_Don't tell me the ship's already moving. I thought it's supposed to move after dinner? Oh, I don't feel so good'_

He felt like hurling. It's pretty sad isn't it? The heir to Nakatsu Waterlines is prone to seasickness.

He walked over, or tumbled his way over to his assigned table: 53. There seems to be someone he didn't know there already. '_Is it a joint table then?'_ He took a seat in the corner, not even bother looking up. He shouldn't waste energy.

"Are you alright?" a serene voice asked him gently. _'Weird, I feel like I've heard this voice before.'_

"I'm alright," he managed to choke out. "It's just nausea."

"Want some water?" the stranger asked, placing her glass of water near him. "Should I call the doctor?"

"No thanks," he looked up and saw….

"It's you!" they both shouted.

**A/N: There's your update (sorry it's so short…but I know you guys are dying for an update, so instead of making a very long one…) I'll post up what I have right now. I'm not sure when I'm going to update. I hope I'll have time during winter break, but that depends on you guys too. Feel free to pm me, remind me to update….but if I'm unable to, I'll post my status onto my profile so that you guys won't worry too much. Sorry again!  
**


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Happy New Years everyone! I wanted to wait longer before posting this, but I think 4 pages might be okay? Hope you guys have fun with this chapter! And thank you for being so patient with me. I really want to update much faster, but I just don't have the time to. Also, I just recently covered from a cold. Although now my whole body aches from iceskating. I fell way too many times .

Chapter 17 - Problems

Shuuichi groaned, mumbling something about intense bad luck and how he will never cut his hair on Chinese New Year's ever again. He decided to ignore Julia, whose face changed from furious and angry to a gentler and more concerned look.

"Hey," she gently nudged him as several waiters passed them.

They seemed reluctant to help him though, she noticed. It's almost as if they were afraid to approach him? She failed to feel or see the darkened, gloomy atmosphere surrounding the young man. Julia looked around; possibly someone would help right? She gave evil glares at the waiters, but none would budge and sacrifice themselves to their demise. Julia looked around, but there weren't many people down here yet.

Julia frowned, bent over and took a look at Shuuichi. Her eyebrows scrunched together, filled with worry.

'_Should I call the medic?'_ she wondered.

Shuuichi grumbled, putting one hand over his stomach. The other cautiously went near the napkins, just in case he couldn't control his nausea.

"I'm fine," he managed to cough out to her in pain.

'_Wow, I've never seen anyone with such severe sea sickness!'_ Julia observed keenly.

'_I don't think I feel good. Let me at least leave a note for the others…' _Shuuichi thought and started scribbling but soon lost conscious right after.

'_He just fainted. He fainted!'_ Julia's mind screamed. _'Why am I so alarmed anyways?' _She flung her arms in various directions, wondering what to do. Some of the waiters look at her with pity. Others were debating whether her head was okay.

'_Humph. It's not like I need help from them'_ she thought.

"But still, it's quite shocking and suprising…" she whispered to herself, referring to the unconscious guy.

"And it's right in the middle of writing a note too!" she heard someone mention.

"Yes!" she said, and then turned to see four or five young waiters looking at the scene.

"You guys…" Julia's eye twitched, "were here this whole time and didn't even lift a hand to help out?"

"I think it's best for you to move him now while he's unconscious," one of them suggested earnestly.

"And then bolt out the door before he gains consciousness," another told her as if he knew from experience.

"Isn't that more the reason to help weak, little old me?" Julia said quite mockingly at the men.

"Uh, it's not like we don't want to," one fidgeted, suddenly finding his fingers interesting.

"It's because Shuuichi-sama is very scary when he's sea sick!" one exclaimed and bolted out the exit.

"Uh…okay…that was weird…" Julia commented. "This is getting more and more bizarre by the moment."

The others nodded gravely but made no move to help her.

"Oh, common now, you guys can't be serious!" Julia threw her arms unprincess-like in the air. Well, it's not like Mizuki acts like a princess anyways. Maybe that's why they are such great friends.

"Ok! Fine, be ashamed! Sure…leave all the hard work to me!" Julia stomped off with Shuuichi in tow, raising an imaginary fist at them since her hands were trying to support the boy.

"Now, what should I do with you, Shuuichi-sama?" Julia said in a smaller voice.

"Sama…" she whispered. "What is he? A rich kid or something? This golden haired monkey? Impossible."

Julia tried her best at picturing him in a suit and laughed. "The image doesn't match him at all, but where should I go anyways?"

Julia was so preoccupied with moving Shuuichi that she didn't notice how Mizuki and the rest of the group were entering through the entrance on the other side as she headed for the exit. Had she noticed, maybe she would have to face hell, or the so called hell.

"EH?!" Shuuichi's not here yet?" Mizuki sulked as she walked to their designated dinner table.

Izumi poked her. "Why are you sulking? It's just one person that's not here yet. Stop acting like it's the end of the world."

"But…" Mizuki said, and looked up with big, watery eyes.

'_Uh oh. I made her cry…What should I do?'_ Izumi wondered.

While Izumi stressed out, looking for a way to stop the crying Mizuki, said girl found Shuuichi's unfinished note.

"Hey, what's this?" she asked.

'_Geez, she's not even listening to me'_ Izumi sweat dropped while looking over her should to see the note.

"Oh you guys are here already! Watcha looking at?" Sekime asked as he came in with the rest of the group.

"Hey!" Mizuki greeted. Izumi nodded as a sign of acknowledgement and resumed to look at the note.

"So, should we begin our meal then?" Rio asked. "I'll be your personal waitress for tonight!"

"Rio! You couldn't. You should eat with us," Mizuki said with much familiarity that it confused Izumi and the rest.

"I didn't know you were friends with Rio," Izumi said.

Mizuki sent eye signals to her friend, asking for help.

"Is something wrong with your eye?" Nakao asked. "It's twitching oddly."

"What? Let me see," Izumi held her face to his and examined her eyes. "There doesn't seem to be any problem. Not from what I see."

Mizuki quickly turned away, a blush rising to her face.

"I think I'm going to the restroom for a while. You guys can start without me!" she got up from her seat and hurried out.

Meanwhile, Julia was having a bit of trouble carrying the sick Shuuichi to her room since she didn't have the heart to abandon him elsewhere. Currently, she dropped him off on the floor to her door while running into the bathroom to clean off the vomit he accidently spilt on her.

"Ugh!" Julia exclaimed, still trying to get rid of the scary looking vomit that dared to drip from her long blond hair and onto her elegant red dress.

'_What in the world did I do to deserve such fate?'_ Julia asked the sky, although she's under a ceiling.

"That guy better be grateful," Julia said as she dragged the boy onto her bed and took off his smelly clothes.

'_Now, what am I supposed to do? I took off his shirt because of the vomit….but what am I supposed to do now?'_

"Hmm….Mizuki might know," Julia decided and called her best friend.

Mizuki sat outside on the bench, trying to calm her heart down. What had happened back there? She remembered that his face had been so close. She couldn't remember what she did. She only freaked out and here she was – outside, sitting alone in a grassy area.

"Hello?" Mizuki asked in a daze when her cell phone went off.

"Hey Micky help me! This guy right here. He's unconcious and he's turning redder and redder by the second."

"That sounds great Julia. Just continue what you were doing," Mizuki answered.

"Wait…what?! Mizuki….are you all right?" Julia asked over the reciever.

"I've never been better," Mizuki answered.

"Um…right. Okay listen carefully. There's this guy in my room and he seems to be sick. What should I do?"

"Oh, is that what you meant?" Mizuki asked.

Julia gave Mizuki a weired look, not that Mizuki could see it.

"What did you think I meant?" Julia asked slowly.

"Uh hahaha. Nothing," Mizuki said, laughing it off nervously.

"Um Mizuki. I think you're also sick. Should I go check on you?"

"I'm fine. I have to go. Talk to you later. Bye!" Mizuki clicked the phone off.

"Wait! Mizuki….you still haven't told me what I should do…." Julia trailed off while looking sadly at the sleeping man.

'_I should go back to the dining room' _Mizuki thought. '_Okay, let's go. Calmly. Now. Be manly.'_

Mizuki kept saying it like a mantra.

"Uh, where's everyone?" Mizuki looked around.

"Well, you were gone for over an hour and they finished, so they left," Izumi answered.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi. Seems like I forgot to put that in the last chapter whoops? There goes my plan erm nothing! *whistles innocently*

A/N: Hi there. I apologize for the long wait, and I'm surprised I have so many viewers! Also, I think Julia is a bit OOC here, but maybe not….after all Shuuichi does easily get on her nerves.

This chapter is a bit long, but I guess it's worth it since I haven't updated in like 6 months? But yeah, sorry guys. I just have a lot of things on my hands right now and it seems I just broke out in hives? Well I'm not sure what they are but they're itchy. Anyways, keep looking back at my profile for updates about this fan fic. Thank you for reading and reviewing! You guys are the best!

Hopefully there's a lot of JuliaX Shuuichi fans reading this because I got a bit too carried away writing their scene. There's MizukiX Izumi too though ^.^ Oh yeah, and feel free to critique my writing or if I have any errors I'm happy to correct them. Enjoy!

_**Let's do a quick recap *well it's more for me than you guys, but maybe for those who haven't read this in a long while ehehe* answers to reviews are on the bottom of the page.**_

_"Wait! Mizuki….you still haven't told me what I should do…." Julia trailed off while looking sadly at the sleeping man._

_'__I should go back to the dining room' __Mizuki thought. '__Okay, let's go. Calmly. Now. Be manly.'_

_Mizuki kept saying it like a mantra._

_"Uh, where's everyone?" Mizuki looked around._

_"Well, you were gone for over an hour and they finished, so they left," Izumi answered._

**CH 18 I'm Not Sure WHO to Fear For…**

'_I was gone over an hour and I didn't notice it?'_ Mizuki thought, perplexed at her actions.

She looked up towards the red, setting sun. The slight breeze from the small open window's corner blew at the silver curtains softly, giving the curtains a gentle wavy look. It added to the serenity of the scene.

'_If only Prince Izumi's feelings were also gentle at this moment and not like an erupting storm,'_ Mizuki silently mused.

Trembling slightly, Mizuki thought hard while fumbling around into her seat. She grabbed the water closest to her and gulped it down.

'_Of course he'd worry'_ she smacked herself. _'I shouldn't have gotten too sidetracked.'_

She felt like banging her head against the table, even contemplated about it, but decided against it. For one thing, she's supposed to be a princess, and princesses do not just bang their heads pathetically against the table. She had this code to withhold, even though no one knows she is a princess at the moment. She found that the ice less water didn't help calm her much though. It seemed to do the opposite. The more she drank, the more she realized she'll have to give him an answer soon.

'_What's more is that Izumi must be demanding an excuse! What should I do?'_ she screamed frantically in her head. '_I still don't know what happened back there…this isn't good…my heart is beating faster again. What in the world is wrong with me?'_

Again, Izumi stared at Mizuki. _'Why was she gone for an hour? Is she alright?'_ he pondered for various possibilities.

'_Maybe her brother showed up on the ship.'_ He was a bit afraid of that thought but dismissed that possibility. He believed that if the cause were indeed her brother, she'd probably run here panicking, not coming her head on and looking lost. She looked like a lost little kitten, he realized. And suddenly, he felt this urge to protect her from harm.

Subconsciously, Izumi moved a bit closer to Mizuki, intending to pull back some strands of her hair. As soon as he noticed what he did, he backed up his hand immediately. It was so fast that Mizuki, who was looking down, didn't even see or realized what he had done.

Breaking out of his train of thought, Izumi noticed the gloomy aura that started to form about her. Deciding to do something about that looming and depressing aura, Izumi crossed his arms and pushed himself out of his seat.

"Well, since the others are gone, want to grab something quick at the sushi bar?" Izumi asked.

Mizuki rocked in her seat, whistling softly, and looked up, glancing at him. "What about the food here?" she questioned innocently

"Cancel it," he told her.

She gave him a blank look. "Okay, you can let the kitchen staff eat it. They'll be thrilled," he told her, as if he's making a big difference for the world like curing the world of the flu or cancer.

'_Is it just me or did Prince Izumi just display a conceited bratty side?' _Mizuki frowned. _'Somehow it just doesn't suit his character…'_

"What are you sighing and looking depressed about now?" Izumi voiced aloud, tapping his feat a bit for effect. _'She wasn't depressed about the food? I was thinking maybe she didn't like the type of food served here or something.'_

"Depressed?" Mizuki repeated. _'Did he think I was depressed about something? Oh well, sushi does sound tempting. It's been eons since I've had it.'_

Apparently the sushi's tempting offer outweighed her logic and intuition to stay away from Prince Izumi, who practically screamed danger to her poor innocent young soul.

Smiling widely, Mizuki clapped her hands and said, "Sushi it is, and you're paying!"

"Why not put the tab on Shuuichi? His family owns the ship after all," he asked her.

Blowing a slight raspberry at the prince, Mizuki shouted, "Stingy!"

"You're so childish," Izumi said to her. "How old are you again?"

"16. So technically I AM still a child," Mizuki pouted.

"No use in arguing with you there huh," Izumi said.

"You're no fun. You're only what three or four years older than me? You should let loose more."

"I'm a prince," he stated to her blandly as if it were the most obvious thing in the whole world.

"Well, I'm a prin…." Mizuki clasped her mouth shut after realizing what she almost said.

"You're a what?" Izumi asked.

"Nothing. I'm just a cook. A regular cook," she replied nervously, keeping her eyes away from him.

~With Julia~

"What am I supposed to do? I don't know how to take care of a person with a fever…" Julia panicked aloud to no one in particular.

Annoyed at the loud taps her heels made on the glossy, beach looking floor, Julia sat down at the lower corner of Shuuichi's teal covered bed and slid them off. She sighed, turning her body to get a better view of him.

Being a princess with maids means she never did anything such as cleaning or washing the laundry. Hence, she never learned how to take care of a sick person. Heck, she's even amazed she could tell how one looked like when one's sick. But it's sort of hard not to, when he's all red and drowsy and knocked out. It just doesn't seem normal. What foods should be cooked, how to lessen the temperature – all these things are foreign to Julia.

She paced around frantically, trying to think of a memory that would aid with her current mission, but the more she thought, the more anxious she became.

"His face is getting even redder…I should get something cold for him. I know!" she exclaimed suddenly, springing up to her feet.

Smiling at her ingenious idea, she hurried outside his room, careful to not lock herself out. Last time she did that, she had a hard time convincing the guards at her castle that indeed she was their princess and not some commoner trying to sneak in to get some cookies. Of course they'd be more convinced if said princess wasn't wearing loose ponytails decorated with mud, or if she wasn't in a pale pink tattered dress that got ruined due to running through the bushes.

Scooping a bunch of ice into a bucket she conveniently found near the entrance to the doorway, Julia proceeded to her sick patient. She rolled up her sleeves and helped herself to his side. She heard him mumble something about being cold, but she ignored him and slid an ice cube down his shirt. He grumbled a bit, but didn't do much after that. So she took this as a good sign and slid another one and another one down his shirt. If only she were good at chemistry she would be able to tell that putting ice cold cubes down someone's shirt is not a very good idea because it's a recipe for disaster. But she didn't, so she didn't even notice how he moved frantically as if he's reaching his limit. His blue eyes snapped open.

""WHAT THE HELL DO U THINK YOU'RE DOING?" he screamed at her.

Pausing her decoration with the ice, Julia couldn't help but think something was wrong with the picture. Shocked, Julia let the ice cube fall from her hand.

'_I'm not sure this is really helping him'_ she thought. It didn't really help considering she never ever got sick, so she didn't even know what her maids would do.

"The ice keeps slipping off his face. How would his fever come down then?" she wondered as she rearranged the melting ice with new ice.

Occupied with her agenda, she didn't even notice Shuuichi's hand clutch hard onto her. There was only one thought in Shuuichi's not really hazy mind: THIS GIRL IS CRAZY!

"What the hell are you doing?" he repeated in a very low, threatening voice. It was different from his usual happy, cheerful self.

This time, she answered with, "treating a sick patient."

"Are you trying to kill me?" he asked.

"No, treating you," she replied slowly, as if talking to a small child that just wouldn't listen. "But it seems you wouldn't comply," she frowned.

"Who in the hell in their right mind would?" he yelled, trying to move but found it impossible due to the very tight ropes that conveniently strapped him to the bed.

"What the hell is this?" he sneered darkly.

"I'm not sure what those men meant by you being scary when sick, but this is a bit entertaining!" she said with glee.

Shuuichi looked at the madwomen, completely fearing for his life at this moment.

"Oh my, did I just say that out loud?" Julia wondered.

'_Well, either way, I don't think he could damage me by just screaming insults and bad words.'_

"Well, I wouldn't want you to resist so I had to do something to protect you from harm," she said, sitting casually on his bed, patting his arm gently, as if to signify he can't hurt her.

"You mean to protect yourself," he corrected her while struggling hard to get free.

His wrists started to darken to a reddish color.

"And I'm not a dog you sadistic person!" he continued to rant. "So tell me why is there a bell hanging off my neck?"

As he twisted and turned, the bell rang.

"I never said you're a dog. A monkey is always a monkey," she noted sagely.

"What monkey? No monkeys wear bells around their necks!"

"So you admit you are a monkey?" she laughed mirthfully.

"You….I'm going to sleep…"

She grabbed another ice cube. As if he had a sixth sense, Shuuichi snapped his eyes open again, glaring at her, "AND NO MORE ICE CUBES!"

"Don't you dare order me! I want to decorate you with ice cubes so I will!"

"AND YOUR TRUE NATURE FINALLY REVEALS ITSELF! You're NOT concerned about me at ALL!"

Shuuichi sighed and scratched his head mentally. She looked like she's about to cry. And he couldn't stand crying girls. So, he said, "okay…first, get rid of the ice and fill the bucket with cold water and get a towel and wipe."

She stared at him blankly. "Okay you know what? Let me go and I'll do it myself. And you…just leave…" he said.

"Wait…what do you mean? How can I just abandon you? A sick person?" she kept insisting. True, she wasn't fond of him, but she had her morals too.

"Fine, be my guest," he complied, already too tired to argue with her. Maybe he can get some shut eye. His head was throbbing bad.

"Just don't do anything stupid," he reminded her.

"Hey, you must be hungry right?" she asked shyly.

'_What the heck?'_ he thought. _'Is this girl bipolar? Or maybe Multiple Personality Disorder? And why the hell do I know these terms?'_

"Hmm, perhaps," he replied, pissing her off.

"Hey! Yes or no? It's that simple!"

'_See what I mean?'_ he thought.

"What can you make?" he asked her, a bit curious, actually. He wondered what could this princess like lady make? And just to taunt her, he decided to throw in a few words.

"Porridge…you can at least make porridge right?" he teased her, not expecting her to answer yes.

"Psh, of course. It's so simple after all. Anyone could do it," she said, already regretting her big mouth and egotistical pride.

'_But it can't be too hard to make….right?_'she thought as she invited herself into his kitchen and got out a silver cooking pot from the pale yellow cupboards.

'_Porridge is made of water and rice, so that's easy enough. The problem is the favoring. Let's just stick to the basics. There's no way I can mess that up'_ she convinced herself.

"Let's put in some salt…sugar…more salt…more pepper…salt…sugar…too much salt…more pepper…errr…." She said aloud to herself.

"Let's stop trying it, I'm sure it's edible by now" she said as she opened the fridge. "Orange juice…well it's sweet, and I should be a bit creative. Let's add in 2 cups. That should give the porridge a nice tinge. I'm such a genius!" she exclaimed, happy with her masterpiece.

Shuuichi propped himself up with the help of fluffy white pillows that lay stacked neatly by his side. Somehow, he couldn't help feel that something was horribly off with that disastrous looking pot of porridge that's currently in front of him.

'_It's impossible to mess up porridge right?'_ he kept repeating to himself while staring at it. He believed that staring at it would change its color. Yep, he believed it would.

Normally, when he's sick with fever, everyone would try to steer clear of him, since he would lose common sense and isn't only arrogant or moody, but he would actually kiss anyone. And by anyone, no dog or man can escape him, literally. But interestingly enough, besides a bit of moodiness and weariness, he doesn't have the urge to kiss her at all. Perhaps, his mind has now returned to normal due to her…unique…way of nursing a patient. Who would still be under a weird consciousness when ice cold cubes are running down your back? Or when you're fearing for your life over porridge? He's thinking too much all right.

"Hey, your porridge is here!" she greeted enthusiastically. She wondered how it would taste, seeing that see never made food before.

Now, how did he know this? Let's just say the orange tint was a big clue that he didn't even need to ask to confirm.

"Er…why don't you try some too?" he insisted desperately while trying to not appear desperate.

'_Is that even possible?'_ he wondered. There's no way he's going to finish that all by himself. He might die…literally!

"It's all right. You should eat to regain your energy!"

"Or die from that energy," he mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" she asked.

'_She heard that?' _he thought, surprised that she had such good hearing.

"Nothing!" he quickly replied. Somehow, he couldn't resist girls. Damn girls, damn fever.

"Well…how is it?" she asked. It looked like she's sparkling. She's really sparkling! And it's not due to his fever either. He swore he's not hallucinating or making this up.

Fight the urge to crawl to the bathroom and throw up the unidentified specimen inside his stomach, he grimaced and prepared himself, saying, "it's all right…but what did you put in here?" he asked.

Hopefully the orange was due to the carefully mashed up carrots. But the thing was he didn't remember storing any carrots in his fridge.

"Oh, it's nothing unusual. Just some salt, sugar…" she said as he nodded. "…and orange juice."

A/N: Okay, Q&A time! Actually I'm not sure where to start, but if you really want your comment answered, just PM me or say so in the review. I apologize in advance if that happens! And if I mentioned you when I answered you already...well aren't you lucky! *ahem* Okay let's start.

guardianranger: your spanking chapter is coming up. I anticipate in about one or 2 more chapters? Or maybe next chapter? Sadly I don't know when that will be =(

Soccer-chan: I hope you figured our what Mizuki meant. and why are u dizzy?

hafizatul sufiah: glad u love my story! I'll keep your advice in mind. *hint hint* it might be coming up.

flamingbunnies: I hope you find her torture very interesting indeed.

Tenten894: Thx! I hope I can improve that style! ^.^

Untold Story: Thx! and i anticipate 5 more chapters max?

Usagi Knight: it is a bit over the top, but I have seen a drama with a cooking competition and it was interesting, though sadly I wrote this chapter before having reference of it from the drama. I guess that means I get points for originality right? But I must admit that the "sickness" thing did come from a manga that I read. Though I only borrowed the part that the girl had no idea how to cook. But then again it works since Julia, as a princess doesn't know how to cook. Weird right? Since Mizuki does...

riinala19: Thanks! ^.^

Prussia's India: Oh he'll find out soon. Real soon. Okay maybe in a few chapters.

shinigami777: lolz sano a perv? where?


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own Hana Kimi.

A/N: Hey everyone. It's been a long time! *pauses* So, a couple of things. First, my computer got a virus. Then the back up file for story wouldn't work – stupid flash drive. So I decided to get one of those back up external discs, but there was one small problem….I didn't save the fanfic into the disc so it got lost. I had to find the original paper and I'm not the best organized person in the world. Since there was a long disconnect and a stressful semester, I had a major writer's block. My block has sort of vanished so here it goes.

I also want to apologize to my readers for taking so long to update. I'll try to keep updating at least once every month at least after the release of this chapter. I understand how frustrating it is to be kept waiting so long, but my classes aren't making my life easy and I'm basically falling apart.

On a side note, please help support Japan by donating to the Red Cross. Every dollar counts!

Onto with the fic.

**CH 19 – And Then What happened?**

It's 6:30 in the morning. At least, that's what the big, red digital clock glaring back at the disguised princess from the wall clearly indicated. Mizuki opened her eyes and slowly adjusted to the nonexistent dim light. Groaning softly at the thought of leaving her warm, soft, comfortable bed, Mizuki reluctantly pushed off the emerald colored bed sheets. There was one tiny problem, though. There was a pair of strong, warm arms protectively hugging her waist.

It took our princess more than a few seconds to register this in her mind.

'_Strong, warm arms?' _Mizuki's mind finally processed, putting her into an alarmed, panicked mode.

'_What should I do? Is it a rapist? No, I'm supposed to be a guy, and the other person sharing this room with me is Prince Izumi.'_

Mizuki turned red at the thought of Prince Izumi being in the same bed as her. She could feel the heat processing throughout her body. Boy, she felt so hot she's sure she's burning! Thankfully, it's not enough to stir up the sleeping prince.

Turning to face the owner's arms, Mizuki's heart skipped a beat. Now that her eyes have fully adjusted to the lighting, she could clearly see Prince Izumi's sleeping profile. His long, dark eyelashes seemed to call out to her, like they wanted to be touched. Why else would they be so long, so beautiful? There was his natural scent too. He smelled so good, even without cologne. It was driving her crazy!

'_I gotta get out of here quick, for both my sake and his,_' Mizuki decided. _'Must. Not. Fall. Into. Temptation.'_

Her hand seemed to have a different agenda though. Before she could stop it, her hand had gently trailed his warm cheeks.

'_So smooth'_ she thought, clearly enjoying herself.

"Shoot! What are you doing hand?" she whispered out loud, forcibly withdrawing her hand from his face.

"Yes, I know, it's smooth and warm, but you need to stop hand! You're invading his privacy!" she continued to voice her thoughts aloud.

'_But how did he end up in my bed anyways?'_ she thought, but decided to leave it alone at the moment.

Freeing herself from his deathly grip, Mizuki sat upward, slipping off her PJs, and blindly searched for a suitable wear. Making sure that her footsteps were light as a feather, she quickly grabbed a random sweatshirt in the dark, careful not to wake Prince Izumi accidentally. She doubted she needed it in this type of humidity, but she didn't want to sneak back and get herself into trouble. She silently tiptoed through the pale, blue tiled floors, holding her breath for as long as she could. She was so afraid of waking the prince who was currently twisting and turning.

'_Don't wake up now' _she prayed.

She didn't want to act more suspicious than she already has.

Closing the door silently behind her, the princess journeyed to her waiting friend.

Prince Izumi laid still in the bed until he was absolutely sure that she's gone, and then exploded in a laughing fit.

'_She's so cute'_ he thought to himself, rolling towards the side of the bed facing the door and laid on his back. He touched his face, thinking about her soft, gentle touch and smiled. He looked up at the ceiling and laid his arms behind the back of his head.

_**Flashback:**_

'_**I can feel her temperature rising. She's blushing, isn't she?' **_**Izumi thought, smirking with his eyes closed. He hugged her tighter, pretending to be asleep. He could feel her tensing up. **

'_**Maybe I should make it lighter?' **_**his mind probed. **

**He felt her shift towards him, and after a moment's pause, he felt her touch. It's so smooth, so chilling, and he loved it. It was like his mind was saying "don't stop."**

**She did stop though, much to his frustration and tortured soul. **

**But she continued with caressing his long eyelashes. **

"**Shoot! What are you doing hand?" he heard her say.**

'_**She's having a conversation with her hand. How sweet.'**_

"**Yes, I know, it's smooth and warm, but you need to stop hand! You're invading his privacy!"**

**At this moment, he's trying his hardest to not erupt into laughter right then and there. This girl never ceases to amuse him! **

'_**Sounds like her hand is in love with my face'**_** he thought jokingly. '**_**She's so cute that I don't want to let her go. I want to hug her like this forever.'**_

**Suddenly, he found himself agitated, annoyed, irritated. He couldn't do this! **

'_**What about Princess Mizuki?' **_**he thought. She doesn't deserve this. And he loves Princess Mia, so shouldn't he be faithful to her? But the more he thought, the more he got confused. He couldn't help think but Mizuki the chef as his Mia. **

"_**There's no way Mizuki is Mia. Snap out of it. You just miss Mia," **_**he tried to convince himself. **

**By the time he snapped out of his thoughts, he found himself alone in bed. Mizuki was already grabbing clothes and headed out the door.**

_**End Flashback**_

The smell from Julia's hot, simmering black coffee wafted from Julia's seat to Mizuki's nose. Princess Mizuki's mouth watered with anticipation as the yellow umbrella covered patio swiveled in the wind. The disguised princess adjusted her long, blonde golden hair disguise, pulling the wig's stray strands from her face.

Mizuki didn't even wait for her friend's "hi" and promptly seated herself across from her natural blond haired friend.

"Slow down Mizuki! You'll choke!" Julia warned, reaching for a napkin for her friend.

"But Julia…" Mizuki paused, looking up with big, sad, tearful eyes. "It's so GOOD!"

Princess Julia looked at her friend oddly, knowing that something must have happened in that emerald, green room with the prince. Actually, upon seeing Mizuki she knew something must've happened between them.

Julia remembered Mizuki's glazed face as she followed her to get food. There were all sorts of western style breakfasts available. Mizuki seemed to break from her trance and rushed for the bacon, looking back a bit with glimmering eyes. She seemed to enjoy the bacon's simmering sound as it was cooked.

"Do you want eggs with that?" Julia remembered the young chef asking. He looked about Shuichi's age.

'_That damn Shuichi…I want to punch him'_ Julia thought, balling her fist at her side. _'He's such an annoying guy. He wouldn't stay out of my mind!'_

Julia turned from her thoughts and Mizuki said, "Yes, sunny rise up please!"

"All righty," the Australian chef winked at Mizuki and flipped the egg up in the air, which perfectly landed sunny side up.

"Wow!" Mizuki clapped, clearly entertained.

"Show off…"Julia muttered under her breath. Who was the chef trying to kid? He was definitely flirting with Mizuki. Though Mizuki doesn't look like she caught on though, Julia sweat dropped.

'_Oh well, at least it kept her from thinking about the incident. But wait…then why is she digging into her food like that? She always eats so properly. This is so unlike her!'_ Julia realized. And now her thoughts have brought Julia back to the present.

Julia sat looking at the rising sun, giving her friend a slight smile. As she drank her bitter coffee, she gave Mizuki an interested gaze and nudged her friend. After all, she has to confront with it sometime.

"So…" Julia started, and trailed off.

"So….what?" Mizuki responded while munching the rest of the bacon.

"You look like you're distracted about something," Julia started. "Did something happen between you and Prince Izumi?" she asked.

"So what happened yesterday?" Julia continued to prod.

Mizuki gave her friend a playful glare, raising her eyebrow ever so slightly.

"Shouldn't it be me asking you that question?" Mizuki retorted, half serious with her words.

Mizuki recalled the scene she and Prince Izumi had come stumbled upon yesterday. Julia and Shuichi had looked rather intimate for lack of better words. It was a compromising position and a bit ironic actually. You see, here's the scene prior to Mizuki and Izumi's entrance.

After Shuuichi found out about the orange juice in his porridge ordeal, he started helplessly throwing up right on himself and on Julia. Orange porridge splattered onto his white t-shirt as well as Julia's long, golden hair. Close to barfing from the smell himself, Shuichi decided to do a gentlemanly thing. His barf smelled t-shirt will just have to wait. So, being a gentleman even with a fever of 103.5 degrees, he offered the golden haired princess his shower room. Julia refused at first, but the smell overwhelmed her, so she stepped into his nice, comfy shower, free from the horrible, wrenching smell.

Meanwhile, Mizuki and Izumi walked down towards Shuichi's room to check how his fever's been going. They had just finished eating at the sushi bar, which was superb. There were countless onigiri animal shaped rice balls, sushi, eel, and sashimi. There were other things too, but these things were what caught Mizuki and Izumi's attention the most. They had been talking, thinking what they should do next when they learned of Shuichi's "sickness." So out of concern, they stopped by, but what did they find?

Apparently, it's a half naked Julia on top of the floored Shuichi. o.O

"This isn't what it looks like!" Shuichi shouted.

Yes, as if THAT made it more convincing. It's something most people would pass off as denial.

A/N: Yes, it's a cliff hanger again. Sorry guys, but if I were to finish this, it'd be pretty long and you guys will have to wait longer. Hopefully you guys like it. Please read and review! I hope my description got better. Ciao!


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